Please help me raise £1000 for MIND

[Hopman 46]

John's page is at :

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnOfford

 

He's now at 60% of his target.

[johnofford30 10]

Thanks for sharing that

[johnofford30 10]

It's #TimeToTalk Day! Wherever you are, you can talk about mental health. Start a conversation and end the silence:

 

It was 5 years to the day that my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was told he had 4 weeks left to live. I remember driving my father back home, the silence in the car will stay with me forever. My brother, Anthony who had a mental illness took it particularly badly and ended up collapsing at a friends flat a few weeks later.

 

A mix up by Yorkshire Ambulance Service meant my brother didn’t get immediate medical attention as there was a delay in dispatching an ambulance to the scene. When Anthony finally arrived at the Northern General hospital, he was sent to intensive care. When my mum and I reached the ward, we were called into a room where the doctor said that Anthony had irreversible brain damage, caused by a starvation of oxygen to the brain and that there was nothing they could do.

 

Anthony passed away 2 days later when the life support system was switched off. We went home to my dad to tell him that his son had died. It’s hard to put into words how we were feeling, except to say that we felt detached from the reality of the situation. Despite the doctor saying in early February that my father only had 4 weeks left to live, he remained alive until the 8th May, 2013 - the day of my brothers funeral. I find this a truly powerful testament of the human spirit.

 

An inquest followed and the coroner said it was ‘more likely than not’ that Anthony ‘would have survived’ if he’d been given prompt treatment. Since then, I’ve campaigned to ensure mistakes like this never happen again and it was taken all the way to the House of Commons. Sadly, this wasn’t a one off, as this Guardian article touched on when writing about my brother and the effects of government cut backs; https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/may/22/ambulance-delays-linked-to-35-deaths-in-past-five-years

 

It’s taken me 5 years to make sense of it and it’s only now that I can take something positive from something negative and finally look at this photo again. It’s why I’m ready to run my first ever half marathon this year to honour my brother and to raise awareness of mental health issues and the fact that no one should have to suffer alone. If you can help me raise my target of £1000 by sharing this post and/or donating anything (even £1 would help), you can do so here;

 

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnOfford

 

Thank you to Ben, Sam, Angela, Vincent, Becky, Zack, Karen, Maddy, Faith, Richard, Nancy, Claire, Sarah, Julie, Peter and many others that have already donated, it is very much appreciated. I should say that I hope to run in memory of my dad next year and to raise money for the fantastic charity, Beating Bowel cancer.

 

I decided to tell my story on here to raise awareness of mental health, not for self pity. Everyone has a story to tell and life can be tough for all of us at times, but it can also be great too. x

[johnofford30 10]

My official t-shirt has finally arrived! I can’t quite believe that I’m going to be running a half marathon next month. I managed 9 miles the other week, although still much more training to be done.

 

I want to say a massive thank you to everyone that has donated so far. I’ve been overwhelmed by the response I've had since posting my story below. I’ve currently raised £1,364.20 out of my £2000 target. I just need to raise a further £635.80 before the Sheffield Half marathon on the 8th April.

 

For anyone that doesn’t know, I’m running my first ever half marathon in memory of my brother and for a mental health charity next month. You can donate here if you want to (and even £1 will help);

 

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/johnofford

 

Click the link below to see how your donation could give someone hope and help them understand they're not alone;

 

https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/donate-or-fundraise/donate/

 

Thanks again

[lindylou53 18]

Happy to donate to you John for this worthwhile cause! Good luck - will be thinking of you on the day:)

[johnofford30 10]

Thank you so very much Linda - I can't do this without people like you and what a generous donation- you've really made my day.

 

Thank you so much and this will make a real difference to people with mental health problems. I can't thank you enough.

 

---------- Post added 03-03-2018 at 10:41 ----------

 

Just to say I managed to run 10 miles today so thanks again everyone.

 

---------- Post added 05-03-2018 at 23:17 ----------

 

I'm now up to £1,515.70 thanks to everyones kind donations. Thanks again everyone!

 

If you have a £1 to spare, here's the link to my story....

 

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnOfford

 

---------- Post added 11-03-2018 at 17:04 ----------

 

I'm happy to say I'm now at £1,640.70...thanks again to everyone that has donated!

[johnofford30 10]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU...........

 

I'm literally in shock right now, some kind anonymous soul from Sheffield Forum has just donated £500 (£625 including gift aid) to my page below! If you are reading this, thank you so very much. I wish I could thank you in person. Every contribution, no matter how large or small, makes a difference!

 

I'm running the Sheffield Half marathon in memory of my brother on the 8th April and to raise money for the mental health charity, Mind.

 

Read my story here...

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnOfford

 

My Radio Sheffield interview here (9 mins in);

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05yr9z2

Edited March 24, 2018 by johnofford30

[Aribanne 10]

Done ! Good luck !

[johnofford30 10]

Thank you very much Ariba, that is so kind of you and will make a big difference:)

 

---------- Post added 26-03-2018 at 18:08 ----------

 

Hi,

 

Just a quick update to say thanks to you lot, I'm now at £2,483.70 out of my £3,000 target!

 

Thank you for your all your help and support in helping me get to my target, just 13 days to go until the Sheffield Half marathon!

 

Thank you

 

---------- Post added 02-04-2018 at 15:22 ----------

 

Happy Easter everyone! This Sunday I will be running my first ever half marathon and I just wanted to thank the following people for their kind donations;

 

Zack Yafai, Angela Russell, Vincent Thompson, Julie Macmillan, Maddy Ferguson, Sarah Williams, Ben Alexander, Becky Knapp, Faith McKay, Claire Claire, Nancy Coulson, Richard Chadwick, Karen Millington, Ben Saxton, Sam Furniss, Paul Wright, Luke Newland, Jo Sunderland, David Anthony Terry, Jane Willa Chesworth, Glenn Gooden, Yvette Lyons, Michelle Ackerley, Ben Greenwood, Chantelle Bedworth-Hayes, Lorna Newsome, Jackie Anderson, Tim Whittick, Tanya Smith, Kris Smith, Trudi Colman, Paul Hughes, Laura Mc, McJames Curry, David Wallace, Maz Waller, Margaret Palmowski-Cullen, Gary Palmowski, Julie Michael Palmowski, Helen Bailey, Megan Laskey, Laura Thompson, Flavia Deacon-Smith, Caroline Flatley, Sarah Drummond, Justin Bones, Justine Hatcher, Lucie McKenna, Leon Summerfield-Kehoe, Chris Lowe and Karen Codling.

 

And...

 

Mark White, Helen, Mad Dad, Shirecliffe Dave, Kaz, Scott and Karen, Peter Maycock, Mark, Sam Blakemore, Peter and Marg, Marie, The Shorties, Liz, Luke W, Dave, Pattie Ryan, Deborah Woodhouse, Paul, Verity Norris, Walter & Alo, JLawton, Linda, Wayne, Linda Sherwin, Duncan, Marjorie, Ben Toone, Peggy Walker, Anonymous in Nether Edge, Medusa, Ariba Anne, Nicola Scrancher, Pam Renoata, Grace Barry & Marie (and all the anonymous donations too).

 

Your donations will make a big difference and has kept me going through my training! It’s been overwhelming to get so much help and support from you all. It hasn’t sunk in yet but I know the 8th April will be a very emotional day for me and many others taking part. I just need to raise a further £400 before Sunday to reach my £3000 target!

 

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I'VE MISSED ANYONE OUT OF THE ABOVE!

 

Read my story here;

http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/johnofford

 

---------- Post added 05-04-2018 at 15:27 ----------

 

Hi,

 

Just a quick update to say thanks to you lot, I'm now at £2,681.70 out of my £3,000 target for the mental health charity, MIND.

 

I've just got 3 days to raise the remaining £300 before the Sheffield Half marathon on Sunday!!!!!

 

If you can help spread the word, please do!

 

Thank you,

 

 

 

John

http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/johnofford

 

---------- Post added 07-04-2018 at 11:04 ----------

 

24 hours to raise my target in memory of my brother and for the charity Mind, ahead of the Sheffield Half Marathon tomorrow.

 

Please help/share...

 

http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/johnofford

 

Hopefully see some of you tomorrow and thank you to everyone on Sheffield Forum for your support

Edited March 26, 2018 by johnofford30