FOR 15 years Dave and Pauline Hibbard lived with knowing their daughter Alison might die at any moment. The end came earlier this week, and it's the second time the couple has faced such cruel fate.

Dave and Pauline, from Moorfields, Hereford, lost their eldest daughter Kelly to the rare genetic disorder Niemann pick type C when she was 19. By then, four-year-old Alison was showing signs of the same condition.

If the devastation of Kelly's death was hard to bear, the couple held their emotions in as best they could to cope with the double blow.

The Hibbards' devotion to caring for two life-limited children first featured in The Hereford Times earlier this year (see HT 1/3/01).

Then, Pauline said she and Dave 'couldn't bear' to think of life being without Kelly and Alison.

Now, she 'doesn't know' where the couple head from here. Alison's funeral at Holy Trinity Church, Whitecross, on Monday, December 3, is the first hurdle.

There will be no black, says Pauline. That would not be appropriate for the girl who made every effort to enjoy what time she had.

And any donations will go to the Birmingham-based Acorns Children's Hospice, where Alison was cared for while Dave and Pauline took respite breaks.

At 20 Alison was a year older than Kelly when she died at Hereford County Hospital on Sunday. Tributes tell of a 'beloved' daughter, sister and auntie.

Having for so long endured a situation that would have shattered most families, it's as if, says Pauline, she and Dave can now grieve for both their girls together.