Rachel Hobbs lives in Hurstpierpoint. Her decision to run the Flora London Marathon on 26th April this year in support of Mind, the mental health charity, is personal and inspiring. This is her story.
“One Monday afternoon in September, my newborn son asleep on my chest, I received a phone call from England’s leading mental health charity, Mind. The lady on the end of the phone told me that my application to run for Mind in the Flora London Marathon 2009 had been a success. After the initial shock of thinking about running 26 miles in one go so soon after giving birth, I realised how lucky I was to be chosen to run for a charity that has helped my family and I so much over the past few years.
My twin sister was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and depression three years ago, since then life for my whole family has been a struggle. Seeing someone you love in so much emotional pain and being unable to help them is enormously distressing. The beautiful, fun loving girl I had grown up with slowly became so very distant from the rest of the world and arguments were an increasingly common occurrence in our household. After my sister had been hospitalised I realised that instead of being angry at her I needed to gain a greater understanding of her illness, I came across Mind’s website and rang their ‘infoline’, here I found someone who could not only give me information on mental illness’ but listen to how I felt. They suggested family therapy along with an eating disorder help group in the area, which my sister attended and her confidence gradually began to increase. Today, my sister is in recovery from her illness and studying for a psychology degree at university; as a family we are rebuilding our relationships and have realised the importance of supporting one another through good and bad times.
Without the help of Mind, I truly believe my sister wouldn’t be as happy as she is currently and my family wouldn’t be as close as we now. Mind has changed our lives for the better and I am running the Flora London Marathon to raise at least £2,000 in order for them to help other families with experience of mental distress. Any money that you can sponsor will make a massive difference to people’s lives. Thank you.”
If you would like to sponsor Rachel, please visit her sponsorship page at http://my.artezglobal.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=242597 .
More information about Mind, the mental health charity, can be found at www.mind.org.uk.
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