Grandmother dying of cancer reunited with horse in heartbreaking scenes Sheila Marsh said an emotional goodbye to her beloved horse Bronwen Dedicated staff at Wigan Royal Infirmary arranged the emotional visit The 77-year-old grandmother lost her battle with cancer just hours later Family say the pensioner took 'comfort in the beautiful moment' By Sam Matthew for MailOnline This is the tear jerking moment when a dying cancer patient's final wish came true and she was reunited with her beloved horse. Grandmother Sheila Marsh was wheeled out of Wigan Royal Infirmary in her hospital bed so she could say goodbye to her cherished steed. The mare, named Bronwen, gently nuzzled up to her loving owner of 25 years after nurses arranged for the animal to be transported to the hospital. The frail 77-year-old lost her fight against the disease just hours after the loving meeting that reduced medics to tears. Final Goodbye: Sheila Marsh was reunited with her beloved horse, Bronwen, in the car park of Wigan Royal Infirmary hours before she lost her fight against cancer Today her family praised hospital staff and said the loving farewell gave Mrs Marsh comfort in her final hours. Hospital bosses arranged for the horse to be transported to Wigan Royal Infirmary after Mrs Marsh's condition deteriorated. 'I was crying my eyes out and all the nurses were crying too,' said her daughter Tina, aged 33 years. She took comfort out of it and it was a beautiful moment. Mum-of-two Mrs Marsh, who lived in Bickershaw, Wigan, had a life-long affiliation with horses and used to work at Haydock Park Racecourse. Bosses at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust said they acted on grandmother-of-four's express wishes. Her daughter said: 'She loved her horses and she loved and adored all animals. She had six horses, three dogs, three cats and other animals. Her condition did not get any better and the hospital allowed us to bring Bronwen in. It was a matter of hours later that she passed away. I want to thank the hospital and all the nurses. It was very important for my mum. She was one of the most hard-working people that you could meet and she would do anything for anyone. Mrs Marsh had raised Bronwen over 25 years from a foal. Gail Taylor, bereavement liaison specialist nurse, said: 'We listened and acted on Mrs Marsh's last wishes. Staff at Wigan Royal Infirmary said they acted on the 'last wishes' of dying Sheila Marsh by arranging the final loving meeting with her horse 'I was crying my eyes out and all the nurses were crying too,' said her daughter Tina, aged 33 years Sheila gently called to Bronwen and the horse bent down tenderly and kissed her on the cheek as they said their last goodbyes. Pauline Law, deputy director of nursing, added: 'I am really pleased to have been able to facilitate the visit from Mrs Marsh's horse. This was obviously extremely important to her and her family and we feel privileged to have been able to provide this support at this crucial stage of her care. It is absolutely right that we should pull out all the stops to ensure that our patients and their families receive personalised, compassionate and dignified care at the end of their life and this is what we will always strive to achieve. Andrew Foster, chief executive of the trust, posted the image on Twitter and said it highlighted how trust staff went 'the extra mile' to make Mrs Marsh feel comfortable. He wrote: 'With the family's permission here is how @WWLNHS go the extra mile to deliver the wishes of a dying patient.' The post was widely shared and re-tweeted. Twitter users - including hospitals across the country - applauded the hospital for its kind-hearted efforts and others said the image brought tears to their eyes.