Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I have set up this page on behalf of myself and my family in order to create a meaningful legacy for my late Grandmother Brenda Witton, who sadly passed away on the 5th of March 2016. It is expected that the official certificate will have cause of death due to cardiac arrest, however the truth is somewhat more complicated and in some ways more saddening. 

For almost three years, Brenda had suffered from a relentless and drug resistant form of psychosis and depression. Her diagnosis of depression with co-morbid psychosis was determined after she was voluntarily sectioned under the mental health act and lead to treatment plans featuring psychoactive medicines and electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). Unfortunately for my Nan, her particular form of psychosis was highly resistant to drug treatments despite the introduction and augmentation of different combinations. Although ECT provided short periods where she was discharged and allowed to go home or be moved into respite care, Brenda never fully recovered. 

The official coroners report recently confirmed the cause of death to be pneumonia. To all of those involved, it appears that the accumulative stress of this incredibly difficult period of mental ill health gave rise to the pneumonia that eventually lead to her death. This did not arise from general ill health or old age however. The long term cause was undoubtedly her ongoing battle with mental illness. An illness that with better scientific and medical understanding could have been treated and managed with far greater efficacy. 

We believe that it would have been Brenda's wish that no other individual had to go through what she did and that no more loved ones experience what our family did. Therefore, we have set up this page in Brenda's memory to further that wish into something closer to a reality.

Any donations of any amount are most gratefully received. 

Kind Regards.