On October 15^th I will be undertaking the biggest physical challenge of my life when I attempt an Ironman Triathlon in Cascais, Portugal. An Ironman triathlon is a long-distance triathlon consisting of marathons in 3 disciplines back-to-back. This will involve a 3.8km sea swim (equivalent to 152 lengths of a pool) followed by a 180km cycle finishing with a marathon 42.2km run. The event needs to be completed within 17 hours.

I thought this would be a valuable opportunity to raise money for an important cause. We often hear statistics about mental health and suicide being a leading cause of death among young adults. It is particularly severe among healthcare workers including doctors. This is likely due a combination of work stress, emotional trauma, personality type, isolation, knowledge and access to means of suicide. These pressures have been exacerbated in recent years by the COVID pandemic and an ever more stretched healthcare system.

Statistics are easy to overlook, but when it happens to people you know it is less easy to ignore. This year a past mentor and then more recently a colleague I have worked closely with have taken their lives. They are just 2 of many doctors to take their lives during the past year. This is incredibly upsetting to witness, but pales in comparison to the suffering they must have experienced. For this reason, I am raising money for the charity SOS Silence of Suicide. They are a small charity started in August 2020 who run a crisis telephone line for vulnerable children and adults as well as face-to-face support events. They advocate suicide prevention, intervention and awareness seeking to destigmatise talking about suicide. By encouraging people to talk and supporting them during their darkest times hopefully we can prevent avoidable deaths.

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.