1 mile marathon for Cocoon

It's been a tough year, being a mental health activist I have always been considerate of mine and others mental health needs, not necessarily paying much attention to my physical health but oh my has this past year changed that!
Roughly a year ago I was diagnosed with a neurological condition that has massively impacted my mobility and my life. I have gone from being a physically active mother of two and CEO of a charity to being a physically immobile stay at home mum. I now can only walk with the aid of a crutch extremely small distances, for any length I now use a mobility scooter and even at times need help to tie my shoe laces. 

The past year has been incredibly tough for my family however we have had the most incredible support from friends and colleagues, many of whom I have met via my work with Cocoon Family Support. As I slowly recover I am keen to show my gratitude to all of those that have supported us whilst also raising money for something I am still so incredibly passionate about.

I will be embarking on what for me is an EPIC challenge to walk just over a mile on New Years Day, I will be following the Parliament Hill and the Tumulus trail on Hampstead Heath and I am hoping some others will be joining me!

This walk is particularly poignant for me as for the past year walking to the top of the road has often felt like a dream. Before becoming ill I would spend many an afternoon in this area of the Heath with my family, I have even hosted many walks for Cocoon Family Support here. I have been craving so much to walk through a park, this will be a huge achievement for me and I do so hope that you will support me in making this dream even more poignant by helping raise funds for something I care so deeply about.

You may wonder why I am raising funds for a mental health charity when I have been physically ill? Why is Cocoon still so important to me even when I am not working and still trying to recover?
Almost 7 years ago to the day I gave birth to my second daughter, Lily. I became extremely ill with postnatal depression, you can read my story here if you wish: http://cocoonfamilysupport.org/jessicas-story/
I struggled not only terribly with my mental health but with the lack of accessible support that was available for myself and my family. 
Due to the lack of support we experienced I decided to set up Cocoon and find a way to offer effective, relevant and accessible support to all family members effected by perinatal mental health issues. Cocoon has gone on to be a great success providing support to hundreds of parents across London. Cocoon provides both peer support and counselling services, with childcare vitally provided to enable parents to access counselling, something that is currently not a norm but in our experience is so important. 
Cocoon is a small charity and to help sustain these services it is vital that we raise funds whenever and wherever we can to ensure that parents can continue to receive this support. I am often encouraging others to fundraise and donate money, well it is time I step up to a challenge! It is my mission with this walk that I will raise enough funds to provide a childcare worker for a whole year, enabling over 32 parents to receive counselling with free childcare over the next year across both of our counselling centres.

I am also raising funds for Cocoon as I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you to an organisation that continues to give me purpose, I want to say thank you to all the incredible mothers and fathers I have had the pleasure to offer support to over the years that have taught me so much about myself and whose strength has inspired me to continue through each day this year, if they can do it so can I! I would also like to say thank you to all the inspirational colleagues I have met over the years, whose courage, knowledge and compassion have guided me onto such an incredible path that I wouldn't change for the world. You have all given me something to strive for and something to encourage me to keep putting one foot in front of the other for.


I don't want to do this alone, I have stood side by side with so many strong women, I have watched the beauty and strength that a group of people with shared experiences can bring. I want you to walk with me, for you a mile may not be long, it may not be hard, but for me it will feel like a marathon and will take me the next few months to build the strength to complete it. I may need someone to hold me up and offer me a helping hand, I may need someone to keep me going with positive words of encouragement. To all the women that I have walked with before I need you to walk with me now. If you can spare a few hours on new years day please join me! You can help me by just being there to cheer me on at the start and finish line, you can help me by joining me and raising funds to walk also with your children (please ask me for a link to join my Go Fund Me fundraising group), you can help me by donating - you could also do all three! 

Join me at the start line - Parliament Hill Café (see map above), New Years Day, 13:00!

Please please donate all you can and help me raise vital funds for such an important cause and give me the incentive to put one foot in front of the other this New Years Day!