In May this year, fundraiser Murray Darnley will be running over 26 miles at the Edinburgh Marathon to raise money for Caring Minds, in gratitude for the support his wife received from the Trust last year.
Written in his own words, Murray explains why he decided to fundraise for our charity, Caring Minds following the exemplary care his wife had whilst at our Oleaster Centre, an acute urgent care mental health hospital located in Edgbaston. This is his story.
“I live in Edinburgh with my wife. In August 2022, whilst on holiday in London, my wife had a stroke and spent three nights in the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Thankfully, she made a full physical recovery, and we returned home when she was discharged.
As a consequence of the stroke however, my wife has suffered from periodic psychotic episodes involving paranoia and delusions. The most recent of these occurred in late September 2023 when we were in Birmingham visiting my family. She was taken to A&E at Good Hope Hospital, where she stayed until a bed could be found in a mental health unit. After two nights at Good Hope, she was transferred to the Melissa Suite at BSMHFT’s Oleaster Hospital, where she spent 12 nights until she was well enough to come home.
We are both extremely grateful to the friendly and caring staff at both the Good Hope and Oleaster hospitals for their help, support and professionalism at what was a difficult and traumatic time for us both, which is why I am running the Edinburgh Marathon for BSMHFT’s charity, Caring Minds.
Louise John, Charity Manager said:
“We are delighted to hear of Murray’s support all the way from Edinburgh! Not only does it help spread the word about the charity and mental health awareness, but it is also a wonderful testimony to the superb care and support that our colleagues across BSMHFT offered whilst Murray’s wife was in our care here in Birmingham.”
If you are inspired by Murray’s story, and you would like to set yourself the challenge of doing a charity run to support Caring Minds this year, why not sign up to the AJ Bell Great Birmingham Run on 5 May 2024.
Published: 12 February 2024
