A family affected by bipolar

Hello everyone i’m Ray and my wife is Zoe . We’re older parents and have an awesome 6 year old Archie . Zoe has been diagnosed as having bipolar, a severe mental illness . Right now our little family are having a tough time again . We had a GoFundMe a few months back which was very generously supported but we have hit another crisis and I’m reaching out for help once more.

Zoe who is a much loved , amazing person has sadly had another admission to hospital in Glasgow 120 miles from where we live in Cumbria. This is her third admission under a section in 5 months and I’m sure you understand that this is hitting us hard emotionally and financially. Before her first episode 5 months ago we were just a regular family but our lives have now become dominated by Zoe’s condition and hospital treatment. She had spent 8 weeks out of the past 14 as an inpatient, twice in Glasgow and once in Aberdeen. Needless to say it has led to costs we weren’t prepared for which have had to be funded from the same pot as all the other day to day bills and expenses.

We are trying to support Zoe as much as we can while she is in hospital and keep our family connection as strong as possible . Travel, hotels, eating out, stuff for Zoe’s stay has come to £1000 already and it’s only been 3 weeks with no real sign of discharge on the horizon yet. We’re not extravagant people , it’s just mega expensive living on the road while trying to keep everything going at home. Also Zoe does not mind me saying that our finances have been affected by the excessive spending that occurs when people are experiencing manic episodes.

Our little boy Archie is a true legend , an absolute star . He has his own health problems with talipes and hypermobility. He has had so much to contend with in his early years . Being away from his Mam and visiting her in hospital has been really tough for him and it’s painful to see the story of his childhood being written before our eyes.

Obviously Zoe is off work sick at the moment and going forward it is unclear if she will be able to return to her job. I am retired and on an NHS pension.

The generosity of people who donated to our first GFM pretty much covered the cost of the first 2 admissions. It’s uncomfortable asking again but any contribution towards the costs that have racked up already would be appreciated so much . If you gave to our previous GFM you’ve done your bit already so thank you, we would not want you to give again, you have done more than enough for us with your kindness.

Any size donation is very welcome , the warmth and support that go with it mean just as much, it’s great to know people are following our story and rooting for us.

Updates on our story and a look into our day to day lives can be found on our TikTok page OldDadYoungLad.