Peaky Minders: A Mindful Trip of a Lifetime
Why on earth am I going on this walking and cycling trip? This is the question I am being asked. I have climbed plenty of mountains and cycled many miles around the country, so why this trip?
It is quite simple, Tony Westbrook is to blame.
He is a friend and an orthopaedic surgeon in the hospital where I work. He has raised awareness and hundreds of thousands of pounds for important causes.
He asked me,
“What would be a good challenge?”
“Climb the four highest mountains in Great Britain and Ireland and cycle between them” I said..
I never thought he would organise it. But he has and so here we go.
This challenge make's sense to me for 3 reasons,
Professional
I spent my career as a doctor looking after children with cancer taking a particular interest in those with brain tumours. I worked with truly inspiring young people and their families, facing up to their life-altering challenges with courage, and so often, with unbelievable success.
After all the cancer treatments are over, my job as a paediatrician, is to help the young person put their life back on track with their families and friends and in education,. This led me to work with many partners in health charities,
· Ellen MacArthur Trust - Rebuilding Confidence
· Barretstown - Rebuilding Lives Affected by childhood Illness
· CLIC Sargent - Fighting your corner
· The Brain Tumour Charity - Living with a brain tumour
· Teenage Cancer Trust - Talking about cancer
Why brain tumour?
In the UK, 1 in 1000 people by age 25 will have experienced a brain tumour, 70% of children with brain cancer survive their tumour whilst 60% acquire a lifelong disability. All have had a frightening experience of ill health which can seriously impair their adult life.
Mental Health Consequences
During and after treatment they have to tackle disabling anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, concentration and learning problems, slowed mental processing, not to mention loss of vision, hearing, balance or mobility. All these come with a mental health challenge. The same is true for anyone experiencing brain injury of other causes.
I worked particularly closely with one young man, Sam White. He lived in Newark. He nearly died on the day his brain tumour was diagnosed. His recovery was progressive and almost complete. He was extremely anxious however about going in the MRI scanner, such that he needed an anaesthetic for each scan as a teenager.
Sam, his parents Pam and Mike, and the team discussed this and we realised that preparation and practice was the solution. Of course, there is no time on the real scanner for such practice and so Sam and his parents hit upon the idea to buy a Mock MRI scanner to permit that safe time for preparation and practice for all who felt the same, whatever their age. This would not have happened without Sam White Legacy that was launched after Sam’s death.
Personal
I count myself extremely fortunate to come from a close and loving family. As a young boy my cousins Alison and Fiona were similar ages to my older brother, Graham and myself. We shared family events and celebrations as we grew up together. Fiona was my closest cousin in age and a similar so we enjoyed each other’s company whilst my older brother and her older sister ruled the roost.
It became apparent that Fiona was struggling as a young woman, she was experiencing severe depression and finding it hard to find a comfortable way to live with the symptoms and her treatments. One day we were all shocked to hear of her death by suicide, a sudden unbelievable event that shook us all. This has stayed with our family and brought us closer together.
Fiona’s nephew Jonathan Heaf, now a leading journalist, wrote an article in GQ magazine highlighting the impact of suicide on families, including Fiona’s experience
After reading this, he and I decided to take this trip in memory of Fiona and of course as fathers of our own daughters.
She will be with us on each hill and on each stretch of road. We cannot replace her loss but we can respect her life and her decision.
Political
As I travel around this and other countries, the despair of homelessness is ever present and the links of those who experience difficulties with their mental health are obvious and a reminder of our vulnerability, highlighted this week by our Royal Family in #HeadsTogether @Heads_Together
The Peaky Minders are raising awareness and funds for mental health charities because it matters to us all. The money that is raised will be a measure of that awareness, which can be used by the professionals working with the charity sector, as I discovered as an NHS consultant. It can influence our personal lives and encourage our leaders to remember that we all have a real role in relieving mental distress in our world.
This will be on our minds on this trip, uphill and down dale from Ben Nevis to the last peak, Carrauntoohil in Ireland, we will at that time be in the spirit of Ben Smith
So what can you do? · Join the challenge in any way at Peaky Minders
Climb or cycle with us or meet us as we set off or come back from our day’s travelling, all support will be highly valued by us all.
Make a donation and send a message of support,
Thank you to David for sharing his story
If you need help with your mental health,
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