Last night, our local group left town on our latest training spin. It’s coming close to the business end of the season now, as sportifs arrive thick and fast. The group will be split up for a few weeks, as targeted events are attempted. We have one member heading off to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Spain, while others, like me, will attempt the Wicklow 200 others will take on the Ring of Kerry. It will be our Olympic games, or our TDF and it will define whether all the hard winter miles and effort have been worth it.
As a consequence of our new found fitness and the final arrival of summer, speeds have increased, efforts are prolonged and the talking has been replaced by long periods of silence and gasping for breath. With this new speed and commitment, comes danger. There is the danger of a fall, a crash, which could lead to serious injury. As a result, everybody has their own insurance and as the group is vastly experienced, there is a great deal of trust in each other. Nothing is left to chance as speeds of 60kph are regularly reached.
Like any sport, the thought of “what if” sometimes enters your mind. I asked this question of one of the greatest sprinters in the world and winner of 3 Grand Tour stages, Carrick man Sam Bennett. He told me that while you think about it potentially happening, the threat of a crash is one of the hazards of his job. However, even at his level, he told me how you rely on the other riders to be safe, capable and sensible. So, that small group of riders on Tuesday and Thursday nights have something in common with a top level pro.
Take a look at most cyclists and you’ll see scars, bruises and cuts, a reminder when things went awry and went wrong. The evidence is obvious and normally means hospital, stitches and in some cases, much more.
It’s an injury that you can see and sometimes, people are more worried about their bike and how they will keep the repair bill secret from their better half, than their own health. “I’ll recover, but the credit card won’t” is a regular excuse.
Sometimes, an injury isn’t all that obvious however. Not all injuries require stitches and not all are visible to the naked eye. I’m talking here about mental health and how important it is in our lives.
A few weeks ago, I listened to a mother speaking on local radio. Sometimes, you hear a story that roots you to the spot and leaves an indelible mark. It was a Friday morning, the sun was shining and rather than being outside enjoying it, this lady was sitting in a hospital ward with her 14 year old daughter. The child has serious physiological problems, but services are shut down at the weekend and beds are not available. So, while the rest of us went about our business, enjoying our weekend with friends and family, this woman held her daughter’s hand, as that’s what parents do. At the end of her tether, she reached out on a radio station, pleading for help.
I spoke to a good friend recently, who suffered the ultimate loss, that of her brother. My friend has been very courageous in telling me her story, as her family struggle with the void in their lives that can never be filled. Her brother went to the hospital and asked them to keep him, but they sent him away, with a date for an appointment with the relevant services. A week later, he had taken his own life, still waiting for his appointment date. A young man, with a life ahead of him, taken way ahead of his time.
In April 2005, the entire country was shocked, when a young mother, Sharon Grace walked into the water in Kaats Strand, Co Wexford, with her children Mikahla (4) and Abby (3). The young separated mother was in distress and called to Ely Hospital on a Saturday evening asking to speak to a social worker. The receptionist working there told her that there was nobody available to talk, until Monday. The bodies were removed from the water the following morning.
Between January 2000 and April 2010, 196 children known to the HSE lost their lives. A further examination of the figures, give the following statistics, that 36 children in care; 32 children and young people in after care and 128 children who were known to child protection services died.
In my research for this article, I came across multiple reports and press releases of more tragedies, some too upsetting to read, let alone write about. One of the saddest comments came from a coroner, who declared that in these tragic situations, the parents believe that they are taking their children to a “better place” and that some people cannot bear the pain and believe that their loved ones would be better off without them.
We are parents of a 12 year old boy. His friend’s dad took a gang of them to the cinema last Friday night. For the first time in years, we found ourselves home alone, waiting for him to be dropped back. Our house was so quiet without him and we commented that even if you’re only giving out to him, or he’s being cheeky, a child is what makes a house a home. When he arrived home, there was a relief in us both, because I genuinely don’t think we could cope without him.
Mental health services in Ireland are at a crisis point. A&E departments are struggling to cope with people, presenting themselves with mental issues. Services have been seriously curtailed over recent years, meaning the closure of many units and a “re-organisation” of available resources. A typical closure was St Michaels Psychiatric Unit, based in Clonmel, in 2012.
We have a huge alcohol problem in Ireland, which is feeding the mental health problem. We have people in huge swathes of society that do not understand addiction and the problems it creates.
Mental Health Services and the lack of are very quickly becoming a huge issue in rural Ireland and will undoubtedly become an election issue. People are getting tired of being told that we are in a state of recovery, while basic services are denied to the most vulnerable.
You would have to wonder about a society where a person can get access to treatment having fallen off their bike, quicker than a person who wants to end their life.
On June 9th, there will be a march in Clonmel, demanding a restoration of mental health services. “Tipperary Fights for Mental Health” was set up in an effort to restore the services and have already had high profile meetings.
This is a time for people to pull together and fight for those that may not have any fight left to give. Only recently, we have stood up and showed our outrage, following the mistreatment of animals and quite rightly so. The majority of people in this country went to the polls last week and voted for better rights for women. Agree or don’t agree, the people spoke out in overwhelming numbers. We now have a duty to show the same compassion for people who are struggling with mental health issues.
Please, don’t suffer alone and please reach out to somebody. Everybody needs to get out on June 9th and march in Clonmel, to demand the proper services and that when a person does reach out, those services will be readily available.
My sincerest thanks to Caroline for her honesty and openness in compiling this article.
Below is a link to a recent interview Caroline did on Tipp FM radio. Well worth a listen:
http://www.mixcloud.com/TippFM/caroline-on-lack-of-supports/
The Unknown Bike Rider 