‘Before the coronavirus outbreak, I came out to New Zealand, because I’d won a two-month writing scholarship. I’d wanted to do this for years. I feel pretty safe here, but, now there’s the chance to get a flight home. If I don’t take it, I could be stuck here for 18 months, while they work on a vaccine. That’s slightly unimaginable.  

‘I have Stage 4 cancer and I need to get home for treatment in May. I’ve spent the whole day talking to medical experts and the consultants. I came out here for a break, but it’s been challenging.  

‘The Bible verse that keeps coming back to me is Matthew 6.34: “So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.” 

‘I thought I’d left that verse behind, that I’d learned to be more settled with myself. I’ve had to do a lot of thinking about death, with cancer. But when this happened, I started panicking about going home, my job, everything.  

‘I have a constant conversation in my head when I start worrying about something. But when I start going into a spiral of worry, I go to that verse. Then I say to myself that I’ve just got to get through the day.  

‘I’d like to say that I’m one of those super-spiritual people who says that it will be really lovely to be with God in heaven. It will. But I’m not really ready to go yet. I didn’t endure cancer to be taken out by the coronavirus. We have hope for the future in God, but we need to enjoy the here-and-now. So, I go back to that verse every day.’