Heather Irene Sheils

As many of you know, Heather Irene Sheils, my Mum, died in February 2023 after a long struggle with Alcoholism. After her funeral I decided I would do more to raise awareness of this horrible disease and do anything I could to make sure I helped the cause. My aim is to raise awareness which would hopefully help reduce the chances of this happening to any other family.

I’ll be running the Berlin Marathon this year on her Birthday to honour Heather. (Someone better get training!)

Heather really was the best mother I could have ever asked for, she would put everyone else’s problems before her own and insisted that she had this all under control. This was far from the truth, and we never found out the true damage until it was too late.  

‘It’s said that a Mother holds their child’s hand for a while and in their hearts forever.’

Alcohol Change UK charity works, not against alcohol, but against the harm from alcohol.  Many of us enjoy alcohol, but many of us have also been affected by its excesses.

Alcohol in the UK

• 24% of adults in England and Scotland regularly drink over the Chief Medical Officer’s low-risk guidelines, and 27% of drinkers in Great Britain binge drink on their heaviest drinking days (over 8 units for men and over 6 units for women).

• In the UK, data shows that in 2020 there were 8,974 alcohol-specific deaths (around 14 per 100,000 people). This is a 18.6% increase in deaths from 2019.

• In the UK, there are an estimated 802,391 dependent drinkers, of whom 82% are not receiving treatment.

• Alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15-49 year-olds in the UK, and the fifth biggest risk factor across all ages.

• From 2009 to 2019, the price of alcohol decreased by 5% relative to retail prices and became 13% more affordable than in 2008. Alcohol is 74% more affordable than it was in 1987.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.