Team HearnSmith (Sally and Mark), are running the Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday 25 September in aid of Mothers for Mothers - a local charity in Bristol providing perinatal mental health support.
We have chosen this charity as our way of saying thank you to the support I (Sally) received after giving birth to Margot in 2018. I suffered low mood and anxiety after accidentally dropping Margot when she was only 7 weeks old on our wooden dining room floor, which cracked Margot's skull.
I was completely devastated. Despite the consultant and neurologist saying to us that she would be absolutely fine, and her skull would heal itself. I suffered low mood and anxiety after that. I was luckily already under the care of the perinatal team, and my mental health nurse suggested that I attend a local support group run by Mothers for Mothers.
There I met other new mums experiencing their own mental health issues, and talking to other mums and the volunteers provided the talking support I needed. Over a cup of tea and biscuit, chatting to these lovely ladies, and after attending a few sessions, I started to feel better, and my anxiety eased and the mum guilt disappeared.
I'm so grateful for the outstanding care I received not only from Mothers for Mothers, but from the NHS healthcare professionals around me - they comforted and supported me, and helped me immensely to lift the "black cloud" and negative thoughts I experienced after the accident with Margot.
Mothers for Mothers is a small, but significant charity based in Bristol, supporting new mums across the city of Bristol, North Bristol and South Glous.
Please support us in running the Bristol Half Marathon - we've been training hard around our full time jobs and looking after our precious daughter Margot.
Thank you,
Sally and Mark Hearn-Smith
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