Suicide victim families must never walk alone

REGULAR readers will know that it is unusual for me to promote charities on this page.

There are so many worthy causes and I find it difficult to single one out.

But then, on October 20, 2019, for reasons that are known only to him, a 24-year old veterinary surgeon, called Cameron Gibson, took his own life.

He had graduated from the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine in 2018 and was embarking on the only career he’ d ever wanted

He was a friendly, popular person who loved travelling, working with farm animals, his dog, skiing, climbing Munros, surfing and cycling.

It seemed like he had it all to live for.

I remember the situation well, partly because I was so stunned, and also because his sudden, unexpected death had a profound effect on his friends from university, some of whom I was working with at the time.

Each dealt with their loss in a different way. Cameron’s family were similarly devastated. His parents, John and Isobel, his brother, Malcolm, and his sister, Eilidh have all somehow had to come to terms with his death.

His father, John Gibson, who is Emeritus Professor of Oral Medicine at the University of Aberdeen School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition said that, in order to cope with his grief, he walked.

It was his way of coping. Now, he is walking 1200 miles from Land’s End to John o’ Groats to raise money and increase awareness of suicide for the charity his family has set up.

The Canmore Trust aims to work with schools, colleges and universities to raise awareness of suicide and to prevent suicide.

It will establish safe places for families affected by suicide to spend time. It will ensure a coordinated programme of research across universities, identifying psychological and physiological risk factors.

It will establish a group of trained counsellors across Scotland and work across suicide charities to coordinate and facilitate a unified approach to fund raising and action against suicide.

Professor Gibson’s walk, which will take around 10 weeks, covering about twenty miles a day, is called #onemanwalkingamilliontalking.

It isn’t just about generating donations for the Trust. Professor Gibson said, “We are doing this for Cammy. We miss him dreadfully and don’t want another family to go through this. We want to open up conversations about suicide and bring it into the light.”

You can contribute to this worthy cause at www.justgiving.com/LEJoG-JohnGibson and watch John’s progress. I wish him luck.