'I hated running before, but it became my escape'
Nick, who is from Leicester, said he realised there was very little support for bereaved parents - and set up the Bodie Hodges foundation in his son's memory, which provides one to one counselling for parents for two years after they have lost a child. The 49-year-old is now part of a group preparing to take on the Great North Run for the tenth time on 7 September in Newcastle to help fund the foundation's work.
'Absolutely devastating time'
Following the accident in May 2012, Bodie was rushed to Leicester Royal Infirmary and placed on life support for three to four days.Nick said: "We received the news no parent wants to receive - that he wasn't going to make it."Bodie remained in hospital for another six or seven days and became an organ donor, Nick added. "It was an absolutely devastating time and it was a situation where we as parents had incredible support inside the hospital, the nurses, pastoral support and consultants were amazing. "But when we walked out, we realised that particularly when it's been an unexpected death, the support was pretty much non-existent."We were pretty much left with a couple of national helplines and 'off you go, go and fend for yourself', and you're trying to navigate a new world of grief and not knowing who to turn to and what to do."Nick said the "strength and courage" Bodie showed in hospital and the parents' lived experience was the inspiration to start the charity - which supported other families who have been bereaved of a child.
The Bodie Hodges Foundation was founded in 2013 and Nick said the its counselling service includes a dads' group called 'chips and a chat', where members meet monthly to take part in a social activity.Nick spoke about how running had helped him in casual conversations during group sessions, which inspired some members to take up running.Nick said there were about 40 runners in the Great North Run this year raising money for the charity, with six of whom are parents who have lost a child.He added all the runners had "various reasons" about why they wanted to take part part. "Some are a little like how I am - shouting from the rooftops because they want to keep their child's name alive", he said.Nick added the tenth Great North Run held "deep significance" for him as it marked the number of months Bodie was alive.
"He may have only been around for 10 months but he's had a significant impact on the world even though he wasn't around for long."Across the 10 years it's really good knowing through the charity, through events like running how it is helping other people now. "Having had that lived experience, there's still not a word that can describe what it is like when your child dies. You just can't explain it, there's nothing in anyway which gets across what it feels. "You can try your best to explain it, but trying to learn to grow your lives again around the grief that you hold is difficult."Nick added apart from when the event was cancelled due to Covid in 2020, this would be the tenth Great North Run he had done in a row and said: "It's taken a long time to accept, but I'm actually a runner."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
10 hours ago
- Times
‘Functional beverages' are booming — but is it all hype?
Before you take that magnesium supplement or sit down to meditate, what if a drink could help you relax? Enter 'functional beverages', drinks that claim to possess additional health benefits beyond those of a standard fizzy drink or fruit juice. Functional drinks are surging in popularity, with supermarkets in Britain seeing sales increase by 24.5 per cent in the past year, according to Worldpanel by Numerator. The market research firm also said that almost 30 per cent of UK households now purchase functional drinks. However, Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a dietician with more than 15 years of clinical experience in the NHS, has warned that she 'wouldn't rely on them [functional drinks] for measurable health benefits'. Ludlam-Raine, who now works privately and is the author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed , said: 'Functional drinks containing ingredients like CBD [cannabidiol], lion's mane [a type of mushroom], and ashwagandha [a herb typically used in ayurvedic medicine] are part of a growing wellness trend, but the science isn't as strong as the marketing.'
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on regulating cosmetic procedures: rogue operators must be tackled, but aren't the only problem
The enormous popularity of beauty treatments, including dermatological fillers and Botox injections, is not solely an issue for health regulators. Changing norms and aspirations about appearances, and the way that these are marketed mainly to women and girls, are a cultural and economic phenomenon that requires wider consideration. While attitudes to these procedures and aesthetics vary, many people – including some cosmetic surgeons – are concerned that younger women account for a growing share of a highly lucrative and growing market. The death last year of 33-year-old Alice Webb in Gloucestershire, after a non-surgical Brazilian butt lift, as well as multiple reports of injuries, and the deaths of at least 28 women who have travelled to Turkey for cosmetic treatments, have increased the pressure on ministers to tighten the law. Wes Streeting's announcement of new licence requirements for UK businesses, and tighter regulation of higher-risk treatments, is probably overdue. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute recently warned that untrained people have given cosmetic injections in public toilets and hotels. Altering the law in order to exclude such 'rogue operators' ought to make high streets and the internet – where many clinics advertise – safer. Talking about the risks, as the health secretary has been doing, and holding a consultation on proposed changes, may have the beneficial effect of raising awareness even before changes are introduced. But councils will need resources if they are to be expected to enforce new rules by issuing licences, checking premises and so on. As in many other areas of economic activity, the law on its own is unlikely to be enough. Mechanisms are needed to ensure that businesses comply. It is already illegal to administer Botox or dermal fillers to children in England – although, worryingly, it is still allowed in Wales and Scotland. Mr Streeting's announcement that rules regarding children will be tightened further is particularly welcome. Strenuous efforts should be made to place them off limits for the industry as a whole. The reported preoccupation of some children with anti-ageing products is not healthy and should be discouraged. Mr Streeting did not refer to the cost to the NHS if cosmetic procedures go wrong, when announcing plans to tighten the law. But Karin Smyth, one of his ministers, has raised this. And Prof Sir Stephen Powis, who was NHS England's national medical director until last month, made the same point specifically in relation to butt lifts – the cosmetic procedure with the highest death rate of all. Ministers should expect pushback even though many experts, including plastic surgeons, favour tighter rules. The pro-growth mood of the Treasury means proposals for new regulations are unlikely to be smiled upon there. The more restrictive approach being proposed for England will also do nothing to prevent surgical tourism and could even increase it, if tighter regulation of the domestic industry results in higher prices. The gap in safeguards that allows foreign cosmetic surgery providers to market directly to the public needs to be addressed separately, which the government has begun to recognise. There is no single or instant fix. But by cracking down on cowboy operators, ministers will send a message that appearance-altering injections and other invasive treatments must be treated seriously. They are a different order of activity from applying makeup or painting nails. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Times
13 hours ago
- Times
Obese to get soups and shakes diet instead of weight-loss jabs
Low-calorie soups and shakes are to be prescribed to thousands of overweight people in Scotland in an attempt to reduce their dependence on expensive weight-loss drugs and provide longer-lasting health benefits. From January, 3,000 patients who have been newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes will be recruited for a clinical trial. About 300,000 Scots live with type 2 diabetes, a condition commonly linked to obesity, in which badly regulated blood sugar levels can increase the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, strokes or nerve conditions. About 10,000 of them are being treated with weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, with injections costing the NHS £3,000 a year. The estimated annual bill of £30 million is expected to rise as manufacturers raise prices. NHS chiefs believe that not only will the soups and shakes plan be less expensive, it will also bring longer-term health benefits. In the Total Diet Replacement (TDR) plan, to be rolled out over three years, patients who have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and are deemed eligible will be given low-calorie substitutes for their breakfast, lunch and dinner. The replacement meals, containing a maximum of 900 calories a day, will be delivered to patients for between three and five months. • What to do now Mounjaro's hiking its prices, by an obesity expert After this initial period, normal food will be reintroduced, but with guidance given on healthy meals through online consultations and an app. The ambition is for patients to lose up to 10 per cent of their body weight over a year. Doctors are also optimistic that up to 40 per cent of the trial participants will achieve remission from type 2 diabetes within a year. There are fears that the weight lost through injections — which work by suppressing the appetite — may last only as long as the patient is taking the drug. By contrast, the effects of diet changes should prove more long-lasting and cost effective, NHS officials believe. The TDR scheme is set to cost £5.6 million for 3,000 patients, a one-off cost of about £1,866 per person. Doctors hope the plan will help patients to fundamentally alter their diet and lifestyle. A spokesman for the Scottish government said: 'We anticipate that around 35 to 40 per cent will achieve remission from type 2 diabetes at the end of their first year on the programme, with a majority of patients benefiting from a clinically significant average weight loss of 10 per cent.' This would lead to reductions in blood pressure and contribute to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. He added: 'We will measure impact by the number of patients recruited into this programme, the number who achieve remission and the number with clinically significant weight loss.'
