A mum-of-two described by her husband as "tenacious" died aged 34 after a brave battle with tonsil cancer.
Tammy Hughes from Southport was training to become a midwife when she was diagnosed back in 2010.
Following the diagnosis she refused chemotherapy, wanting to conserve her energy to spend time with her two daughters, Niesha and Annie, before dying in July 2015.
READ MORE: 'Tree' has people running away in fear near Formby Beach
Tammy's husband, Rob Hughes, told the ECHO : "She was tenacious. She had a real zest for life. When she was ill she was offered chemotherapy but she refused it because, in her opinion, she wanted to be strong for the kids for as long as she was alive. She made that decision and from the diagnosis it was about three and a half years.
"It (chemotherapy) might have prolonged her life but she would have suffered from the treatment so she made that decision to be strong for the kids. The kids know about that decision as well and they appreciate it. She was very strong more or less till the end.
"She did loads with them and was a great mum. She just wouldn't sit down, she was one of them people, she lived her life in fast forward. She was a really good mother and spent lots of time with the kids.
"She was training to be a midwife when she got the diagnosis so it kind of curtailed that. She also worked as a youth worker so she always had kids at the centre of her life."
Towards the end of Tammy's life, she was at Queenscourt Hospice in Southport, with the staff always making an effort, particularly when Niesha visited her mum on her fourth birthday.
The amazing work Queenscourt Hospice did for the Hughes family is the reason why Niesha is raising money for them six years after the death of her mum.
The 10-year-old is set to complete 50 lengths of her local swimming pool, with Niesha already doubling her £500 goal weeks before she is set to swim.
Niesha has raised over £1,100 for the hospice, and is set to complete the swim on September 12.
Her 48-year-old dad said: "[Queenscourt Hospice] looked after her and made sure she was cared for. We were shocked at how good they were. An example was when it was Niesha's birthday whilst Tammy was in there and they bought her a cake.
"They came over and sang Niesha a song. They really had a massive impact on us and made the end of her life a lot more pleasant than it would have been otherwise.
"They rely a lot on their charitable donations and Niesha has always wanted to thank them from a young age so she came up with this idea and all I have done is supported her through it. It's amazing to see everyone's reaction to it and the support of it."
At first, the fundraiser was going to be a no YouTube for a month rule, but with school round the corner and YouTube proving to be a useful resource, the dad and daughter decided on swimming.
Rob, a graphic designer, told the ECHO: "Initially she was going to do a month not watching YouTube because some of her friends had done that before, but with school coming up sometimes you have to watch YouTube as part of the lessons so she thought maybe not.
"She's always swam, in fact when she was born we had a birthing pool so she was born into water and her mum took her to aqua babies with a friend from a very young age so it is something she associates with her mum.
"I now take her every week with her cousins so it seems like a natural thing to do."
To read more or donate, click here.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
