Patient Fundraising for Health Stars Charity to Thank NHS Trust for His Care

A patient from Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust is taking on two running challenges to ‘give back’ to the Trust that’s supported his mental health recovery and fundraising for their Trust Charity Health Stars.

David Gray was diagnosed with Borderline (Emotionally Unstable) Personality Disorder in 2016. To help support his mental health he took up running which kept him feeling well. Having received specialised mental health therapy, now he is lacing up his running shoes to raise money for Health Stars, the official charity of the Trust. David will be running both the Great North Run and Yorkshire Marathon this year.

Sadly in August 2023, David had to stop running after an incident led to him being admitted to intensive care and placed on a ventilator, which took a toll on his body. Since then, he has been receiving support from the Trust’s Community Mental Health Team and was referred for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and is now ready to start running again.

DBT is a specialised type of therapy that is specifically recommend by NICE guidelines for people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BDP). It aims to helps people handle strong emotions, build healthier relationships and reduce harmful behaviours such as self-harm or suicidal thoughts.

David said: “I’m so grateful that I was offered this therapy and that I have an amazing therapist. Without this therapy, I am unsure if I would be here now. To help give something back for the specialist support I’ve received, I wanted to support Health Stars to enhance the health care and experiences of people accessing the DBT service.”

Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and Health Stars are encouraging people to support David in achieving his £250 fundraising target. To donate please visit www.justgiving.com/page/david-gray-gnr or to support Health Stars directly visit their website https://healthstars.org.uk/