Three friends of a Fermanagh woman who died suddenly are walking hundreds of thousands of steps in her memory – 900,000 in total – as they raise money for a support group set up in her memory.
Katie Donnelly died suddenly at Tyrone and Fermanagh Hospital in Omagh last September.
She had borderline personality disorder (BPD) and in her memory, Katie’s mother, Erin, set up Katie’s SHINE Project, which is aimed at educating and advancing the awareness all professionals and support groups have in regard to helping a person with BPD (which is also known as Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD)), cope better and feel understood within their networks.
Megan Jackson, Kylah Plant and Harmony Hamilton are planning on walking 300,000 steps each in June to raise money for Katie’s SHINE Project, and have set up a GoFundMe page for donations.
Reflecting on the task ahead, a message from Megan on the GoFundMe page reads: “We are three girls at university who don’t get the chance to be as active as we should so this is a massive undertaking for us all, but we know Katie will be with us every step of the way.
“Katie had been suffering from BPD when she died suddenly at the Fermanagh and Tyrone Hospital in Omagh last September at the age of 18.
“Katie was one of a kind. She always knew how to make someone laugh and her smile could light up any room. Katie never failed to stand up for her friends, she never let anyone go through anything on their own.”
Set up just under two weeks ago with a target of £2,000, the GoFundMe page had reached £2,010 by Wednesday, May 24.
It is the long-term goal of Katie’s SHINE Project to provide information to professionals and support groups, such that when they encounter a person with BPD or EUPD in a rage, angry, or upset, they will cope better when they know how to recognise a crisis, and what to do when such a crisis occurs.
You can donate at https://tinyurl.com/2p8hb4d7. For further information on Katie’s SHINE Project, visit the Facebook page at https://tinyurl.com/yf5nmc3f.
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