One of our Senior Nurse Practitioners is raising money to highlight an issue very close to her heart, a subject that can be very difficult to talk about and even harder to deal with.
It may surprise you to know that suicide is the single biggest killer of under 35 year olds in the UK and, on 1st November 2022, was something that had a profoundly heart-breaking effect on Lynn Duesbury and her family.
Lynn has been with DHU for nine years and would like to talk to us, in her words, about her niece Jessica (pictured above and below), who took her own life at just 27 years of age.
It has prompted her to support Papyrus, a charity created by three fathers who all lost teenage daughters to suicide, here is Lynn’s story…
"Fun loving, artisitic and beautiful"
“Jess was an outgoing, fun-loving, artistic and a beautiful young woman, with a loving extended network of family, friends and a partner. After graduating from Liverpool University, Jessica made Liverpool her home for the following years, enjoying a lively and creative lifestyle.
“She was a talented writer and had two books published, these include a book of poetry, a book for her younger sister about adolescence and the unforgettable poem she wrote and read for her nan’s funeral.
“Jess made the heart-breaking decision on the 1st of November 2022 to end her own life. As Jessica’s mum, my sister Alison, said at her funeral ‘We are all now members to a club no one wants to be in. Jessica found this life just too hard’.
“Trying to make sense of all of this prompted me to delve deep into how and why?
“I came across Papyrus, an organisation put together by three fathers who had all lost their young daughters to suicide. Their aim is to raise awareness of the prevention of suicide amongst young people, including their campaign to make it a compulsory part of the national curriculum, education and training, help and advice, and providing a free helpline. With their work supporting families like mine, it seemed like the obvious thing for me to do something for them.
“So, here I am looking to cycle and walk 500 miles to raise as much money as possible for this incredible charity, and raise awareness for suicide prevention. I’m a little behind my target, with the recent snow, bad weather, life events and my work commitment to DHU, but I will reach it! What happened to Jess has hit our family very hard, her Mum; my younger sister Alison, Dad, two younger sisters, a brother, baby niece, cousins, uncles, aunties, a boyfriend and so many friends who love her very much.
“We all feel devastated, it will never leave us, it will just live alongside us forever.
“If there was more public awareness of this incredibly under promoted illness, condition, mental illness, however you want to describe it, maybe Jess would have recognised the help she needed. That’s why I’m doing this, for Jess and all of those in this club no one wants to be in.”
If you would like to support Lynn with a donation, you can visit her Just Giving page by clicking here.
If you have been affected by Jess’ story and would like to know more about where to get help, support or are concerned about a loved one, the Papyrus site has a number of resources including a helpline manned by trained Mental Health Experts, links to local resources and much more. You can visit their page by clicking here.
Papyrus UK Suicide Prevention | Prevention of Young Suicide (papyrus-uk.org)
