In memory of Joanne....helping beautiful but troubled minds
Kimberley Onions is raising money for Mind
In memory of Joanne Onions
Story
Joanne was one of the most loving, kind, understanding, caring, talented and extremely funny people who ever touched our lives.
What many of her friends will not have realized though, is how brave she also was, because she made it seem so effortless.
She struggled with various mental health issues from a very young age, with night terrors, and some obsessive / compulsive behaviours that could be difficult to manage. She also had major issues with food, culminating in full blown bullemia.
Over the past several years, Joanne also battled with severe depression for months at a time, and, most crippling of all, anxiety and panic attacks. But she fought it hard, and truly was a very happy and bubbly person by nature.
During the last couple of years however, her anxiety eventually forced her to retreat from the world for long spells– even a trip to the shops was too difficult to manage at times.
Like many others suffering from mental illness, as we have subsequently learned, she found the only way to stop this panic was to have a drink. A slug of vodka would enable her to meet this person, make that phone call or do a simple task.
She became physically ill through this about 18 months ago, and once more fought very hard to get herself back to normal. She retrained as a dog groomer, which she loved, and set up her own small business working from home. This was really starting to build, and she was physically pretty well right up until January or February, although the depression and anxiety were still making life very difficult.
Just a few weeks ago she appears to have had a major relapse, and a combination of heavy drinking and not eating caused multiple organ failure very suddenly. Staff at Kings Mill were incredible, and fought extremely hard for her for 2 days, but were unable to save her.
She wanted people to know the truth of her situation because it is sadly not at all uncommon . In her usual caring way, she was determined and optimistic that once she got better she would work to help others struggling like her.
Now that the suffering of her last year or two is over, we would like everyone to remember her as she was for the majority of her short life – a true, loving and loyal daughter, sister and friend – and absolutely hilarious.
Sadly, like so many others, our beautiful Joanne suffered greatly from a range of mental heath illnesses, that in the end became all-consuming and ultimately were the root cause of her death.
Unfortunately at the moment, the necessary support isn’t available to those who need it, which is why we want to do what we can to help the charity ‘Mind’ provide that life-saving support.
Joanne was such a kind and caring person and was determined that once she got better she would work to help others struggling like her.....please help us to fulfill her wish in donating whatever you can in her memory......Let’s help others find their way back to happiness