A Chorleywood mum is running the 2019 Virgin London Marathon for mental health charity, MIND because she knows how frightening “not being okay” can be.
Joanna Eddison, 50, wanted to challenge herself by completing the 26.2 mile race, while also raising awareness for everybody who is affected by mental health.
Joanna, who says she’s had her fair share of troubles, is dedicating her run to her mum and former fiancé who both sadly passed away.
She said: “I lost my mum to breast cancer when I was 18 but only really understood how much I’d lost once I became a mum myself.
“How she ever had the strength to remain positive while knowing she wasn’t going to get better is something I will always be in awe of.
“When I was 30, just four months before our wedding, my fiancé was killed in an accident. I kissed him goodbye, laughing and joking and left for work totally innocent of the days ahead.
“Losing my mum was hard, but losing David seemed unbearable. I was broken, sad and lost.”
Joanna, who is now happily married and has her family complete with her daughter and step-daughter, still doesn’t forget “the black holes of desperation and sadness” she used to suffer with.
After marrying her ex-husband, she explained how going through the “agonising road of IVF” was brutal, lonely and full of depression and sadness.
But after six attempts and two miscarriages, she finally had her daughter who is her “little miracle”.
However Joanna explained that there are too many people who “aren’t okay”.
She added: “For whatever reasons, however we get there, too many of us ‘aren’t okay’ and need all the support, understanding and love to find a way to be happy.”
To donate to Joanna’s JustGiving page, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/joeddison
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