Pats Story -

Pat was causing mischief even before he was born, when his mum was in labour she is convinced it was him that tipped her out of the paramedics wheelchair and then rounded it off by getting her jammed in the lift doors at the hospital. 

As a baby he was such a bruiser, his first Halloween outfit was as a bowling ball (two dots on his cheeks and one on his forehead). 

As a toddler his heart broke when a bigger kid stole his favourite fire engine ride on and then again as a young boy, when an even bigger kid stole his bike. 

His intelligence was spotted early on when his year 2 teacher told his mum that he was the brightest kid she had ever met and continued through his life, astounding those who knew him with his natural gift. Through his childhood years he was lovable and likable to all he encountered, including after a move from Scotland to England when he was 9 years old. 

His world was turned upside down as a 16 year old about to sit his GCSE’s when his father took his own life in 2010. What followed was 8 years of suffering in silence, those closest to him unaware of the invisible struggle and the inner demons that drained his energy, while on the surface he was a happy go lucky guy, extremely smart, popular and eager to make people laugh. The next two years were more of an open battle with depression and various signs that Pat was finding life tough. After a number of what seemed like isolated individual incidents, his mood lifted and he seemed to have a new lease of life entering 2020, starting a cooking blog and sharing positivity. Sadly, Pat took his own life on 7 Feb 2020 aged just 25 years old, devastating not only his nearest and dearest but also the wider community, where he had made a lasting impact on people’s lives. A shrine in his local pub is testament to this.

The Walk -

1 couple, 2 towns, 350 miles over 14 days.

The  walk will start at the house where my mum went into labour with Pat and is next to the house my grandad took his own life on 4 Dec 1980, we will then walk to the house my dad took his own life on 21 May 2010, before proceeding to the hospital where Pat was born in on 14 May 1994. On the way out of Glasgow we will pass by the house my uncle took his own life on 13 Feb 2002, embarking on a 350 mile walk to the spot where Pat sadly took his own life in St Neots High Street Cambs on 7 Feb 2020.

We will walk 25 miles per day for 14 days to commemorate Pats 25 years in this world and both the date of his birthday 14 May and the date of his funeral 14 Apr. 

We welcome people to join us on the walk for whatever distance they wish and to chat over breakfast, lunch or dinner. We will update locations in advance nearer to the time. 

Pats brother - George’s story 

Why am I doing this walk to raise awareness for suicide prevention? - 

Suicide was impacting those closest to me even before I was born. My maternal Grandad took his own life the year before I was born and my mum, then a 17 year old girl discovered his body. Fast forward 22 years and my mums favourite maternal uncle killed himself just as my grandad had all those years before. This was devastating for her. Fast forward another 8 years and the man I called dad, my mums ex-husband and Pats dad also took his own life. Then we come to 2020 and we lose Pat, beautiful Pat to suicide, the youngest of all 4 males from the same family over a 40 year period to take their own lives. Losing Pat encouraged me to train as a counselling therapist and through this I had a chance meeting with the CEO (Lotte Stringer) of the suicide prevention charity Hectors House. What her and her family are achieving in supporting and raising awareness for suicide prevention is so inspiring and has inspired me to complete this walk to raise much needed awareness and funds for such an important cause, which affects our society daily.

Pats sister-in-law- Cindys story

Do you ever wish you could make someone see how much they are missed? Have you ever thought, I wish we’d have known?

Hi my name is Cindy, I’m Pats sister-in-law, I have been thinking of the time when I first met Pat, It was at his sister Nicola’s wedding in 2015. Nervous as I was. I sat down to dinner and met the whole family all at once! And there he was only 21 years old and a cheeky chap, kind and friendly. Little did I know, two years later he’d be “saying welcome to the family sis” as I married his brother.

Pat was my kindred spirit, he would often come stay with us to look after our doggy’s and spend time with us. There wasn’t a bad bone in his body. He’d do anything to help you, he was loved by all that knew him, he loved a party and was great company.

I’ll never forget the day he went missing, we all knew he had some down days, but I never once thought he would take his own life. It was and still is the worst day I have ever experienced. As I stepped into the police room to watch the cctv and then had to walk back into the room to tell my family that what I had seen on the screen, I was sure was Pat. This is the hardest thing I have ever done.

You see I have seen a lot of sadness and hurt, as previously I was a mental health nurse and I’m now a Paramedic of 15 years experience, I have had to break terrible news to families, but none of it will come close to the news I had to break that day.

The weeks that followed were horrendous as the rescue efforts to recover Pat were hampered by Storm Dennis and it was 39 excruciating days (17 Mar 2020, St Patrick’s Day of all days) that we finally got him back. I must give special mention and praise to the police and the support they provided for our family and the many other agencies that were there for us. This is why it is so important charities like Hectors House are visible to all in the community as a place to reach out to for support, advice, guidance, education and in those moments of crisis.

I am Pacing4Pat350 because I often tell myself I wish i could tell him now how much he’s missed, I wish I’d known his intentions the night he took his own life, I wish I could have stopped him.

I want to raise mental health and suicide prevention awareness, if I can help just one person to see there is another way, if I can help this charity to help others, then every step will be worth it.

Pacing4Pat350 will be a long walk and every step will be in memory of Pat, raising awareness and funds to support Hectors House support those thinking and feeling it is their last walk. 

Please support us on our journey by following us across social media Pacing4Pat350, most importantly sharing our story at every opportunity to raise awareness, donating to our fundraising and walking with us.