Hi all,

Firstly I would like to say thank you to all the people who made a donation to help me fund treatment that the NHS can’t offer. So far we raised £140 and I am so grateful to everyone who donated. Having worked in the NHS I know the workloads are big and everything has to be time limited rather than person centred. Staff work as best as they can within a broken system and as a result I need therapy beyond what they can provide; I am left with no option other than to pay for it privately.

I’m not wealthy in a financial sense, I struggle most months to make ends meet and my family, friends and I don’t have a money tree to access. I feel embarrassed that I am having to ask for help to raise funds for myself. I’m used to raising money for other people so this is hard, AND also this is really important to help me get back to being the Kay everyone knows, rather than the Kay shaped mess that I am now. I am very lucky to have a sponsor who pays for 1 therapy session a month for a year, I match this and I am left to raise the remainder of the sessions (2 per month).

My plan was to start a blog and post frequently about how I was getting on and talking about key issues within psychological therapies. I was also going to talk about my journey through therapy, applying to be an Art Therapist and everything that is involved in this and any other interesting things that crop up. I was going to use different media platforms to raise awareness of my fundraiser.

Unfortunately things didn’t quite go to plan the first time, I was unable to keep my word about blogging and raising awareness. I was absolutely honoured to those who made donations and helped me raise £140 in 2 days and then my nan died, and then also a friend too. It didn’t feel right to keep posting about money for my needs so out of respect I suspended my fundraising.

I was hoping to keep bumping it up so as many people as possible. can see. The way Facebook works means that If I post it once lots of people may not see it, or they think I’ll come back to that and can’t find it. Just giving gives you 28 days to raise the money so my fundraiser has now ended and I am having to start a new one.

My aims are still the same as previously, I’ve had to adapt the costs to account for my mobility issues, when I’m on my crutches I occur an extra £12 travel charge. Therefore, each session costs £52 including travel. This means to match the years donation I still need to raise £936.

People donated and apologised that they couldn’t give more, please don’t feel guilty about that, I am so grateful for every penny that is given to me and I know in my heart I will pay it forward and when I’m in a better place I can look back and help someone out. I think Just Giving sets a precedent that you need to donate in £10 £20 etc but every penny, every pound helps. If you have £2 to spare it matters and can make a difference.

I am so privileged to know amazing people who can help me out and I’m hoping I can raise the £936 I need through this and also doing car boots and utilising my artwork.

Thank you so much for reading. Please if you can help or know someone that can It would really mean a lot to me

Kay 😊