NEWS
4
TheChronicle October 12, 2007
TheChronicle October 12, 2007
NEWS
We still saw the loving, thoughtful boy
T
ristan Mayers suffered from depression from the age of ten. By his mid-teens he was receiving treatment for paranoid hallucinations that made him think he had committed the September 11 atrocities.
He told psychiatrists he only realised nobody else heard voices in their head at the age of 12. An inquest last Friday heard that Tristan, of Common Lane, Kelsall, died after falling 40 feet from a bridge near the psychiatric hospital where he had been treated for seven months. Coroner for Cheshire Nicholas Rheinberg recorded an open verdict after hearing Tristan’s psychotic episodes – formerly known as schizophrenia – had been improving in the weeks before his death and he seemed content. The early development of Tristan’s illness will shock many Chronicle readers but his mother Christine and sisters Hannah, 23, and Rebecca, 27, say it never changed the way they thought about him. Speaking after the inquest, Christine said: ‘Admittedly there were times that were demanding but as his mother I always managed to see beyond Tristan’s illness. ‘Me and my family still saw the loving, gentle and thoughtful young boy we had raised – the same boy who for many years did normal things like any other teenage boy did. ‘Tristan played out with his friends, loved watching films and playing on the computer.’ She added: ‘He was really loving – if I spoke to him on the phone when he was with his friends he would always say ‘I love you mum’, and we used to sit together for hours.
An inquest this week heard that 19-year-old Tristan Mayers died after being treated for mental illness from the age of 15. His mother Christine tells Rebecca Edwards that – despite his illness – she remembers him as a caring teenager.
DEATH SCENE: The cycleway bridge over Deva Link from which Tristan Mayers fell to his death.
hk101007bridge
‘I spent a lot of quality time with Tristan – maybe not in the way other parents spend time with their children, but I am really grateful for that. ‘Though the illness got worse over recent years and Tristan’s mind became more fragile and unsettled, those who remained close to Tristan remembered strongly who he was and not what he became.’ Tristan’s depression is thought to have begun before the age of 10,
when he was bullied by his peers for being overweight and became tearful and depressed. Aged 15 he took an overdose of aspirin and paracetamol, carefully concealing the empty packets. Christine told her son’s inquest: ‘The doctors said this wasn’t a cry for help – there was something far more serious than that.’ Tristan began treatment at the 16-19 unit at the Bowmere Hospital at the Countess of Chester Health Park and
his condition seemed under control until October last year, when he returned early from a trip to Spain with a friend. Christine said: ‘He was looking forward to going there and I think he saw it as a fresh start, so he was disappointed when it didn’t work out. ‘A few days later he said he felt his thoughts and paranoia come back. I took him to see a nurse at the Bowmere Hospital. Tristan wanted to be admitted back into hospital but he
Puzzle why trip to cafe ended in death fall MYSTERY surrounds Tristan Mayers’s death last May, when he sustained fatal injuries after falling 40 feet from the cycle path bridge over Deva Link near the Greyhound Park. An inquest on Friday last week heard he was sectioned the previous October, but had since been made an ‘informal’ patient at Bowmere Hospital on the Countess of Chester Health Park and was making good progress. Nurse Michelle Jones told Coroner for Cheshire Nicholas Rheinberg that staff had even spoken to Tristan about his
moving out of the hospital in the near future. He seemed content when he left the ward at about 2.30pm on Sunday, May 6, for one of his regular trips to the hospital café. But cyclist Peter Thomas told the inquest that shortly afterwards he was cycling over the bridge and saw Tristan crouching down by the side of the bridge looking troubled. At 2.49pm Barbara and William Hewitt of Bebington were driving towards the Greyhound Park. Mrs Hewitt said: ‘I saw a grey object fall. I thought someone had thrown a bag of rubbish off the
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At 6.30pm he went into cardiac arrest after a body scan and could not be resuscitated. Recording an open verdict, coroner Mr Rheinberg said: ‘It is possible that in a moment of bleak despair he did deliberately jump, it is possible he was driven by voices that had troubled him all this life. It is possible he was sitting on the parapet and slipped off. ‘There is insufficient evidence that it was a deliberate fall, and insufficient evidence to say it was accidental.’ Verdict: open.
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bridge – then I realised it was a body.’ Another motorist, Adrian Browning, said: ‘I noticed a large grey object falling – it looked like a sack, there was no waving of arms or screaming. ‘A shoe flew into the carriageway and I realised it was a person. I stopped the car and ran to him, he was lying on his back with his arms and legs stretched out, taking gasps for air.’ Tristan was rushed to A&E with internal bleeding and a spinal injury, where he told his sister Rebecca that he didn’t know what had happened or how he fell.
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found it difficult to express what he was feeling and they told him to go back home again. ‘We left the centre and he just said to me: ‘I don’t want to do this mum but I’ve got to do it’. He went off and damaged a few cars in the car park. I think it was the only way he could express how he was feeling so people would understand he was getting ill again. He was arrested and taken to a police cell for the night. The next day he was readmitted to the hospital.’ Christine says it was sometimes frightening to hear Tristan reacting to illusions and voices. She said: ‘He came home over New Year – it was just him and me in the house and he was up most of the night talking. ‘I got up and listened to him to make sure he was all right and I could hear him saying ‘I’m sorry for the bad things I have done’. That morning I asked if he wanted some breakfast. He said: ‘No, just kill me mum’.’ She added: ‘I don’t think anyone can understand what he was going through unless they have suffered it too. But I think that just as anyone has things that they are worried about and go round and round their head, it was like that for Tristan but 100 times worse. His mind never seemed to be at peace.’ Christine last saw Tristan two days before his death, when she visited the Bowmere Hospital. She said: ‘He seemed quite happy. The last thing I said to the nurses was: ‘I think we’ve taken a turn for the better’.’ Christine says she and her two daughters always made sure they were there for Tristan, whether by taking him on day trips or just holding him. She says: ‘Many people may think caring for somebody with a mental illness would be a chore. However, when that somebody is your son, you never once regard it as anything of the sort. ‘I am proud to say that ‘challenged’ by this often upsetting illness my family and I stayed strong. I know deep down that Tristan always appreciated the love, support, loyalty and strength that his family and friends showed towards him. ‘For those families who are confronted by any sort of mental illness I offer my support, my understanding, my compassion and my love. I offer no advice other than to simply be there, for each other as well as the sufferer… however hard that sometimes might be. ‘It is with this strength that his mother, sisters, family and friends will recall the nostalgia, fun and happiness with Tristan without remembering any of the pain.’
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NEWSfile
Award for museum
CHESTER City Council is celebrating after the Grosvenor Museum became the first in Cheshire to achieve a new accreditation which recognises high standards in visitor services and managing collections. The Museum Accreditation Scheme, led by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, focuses on meeting the growing expectations of visitors and understanding their interests as well as the interests of people who might use museums in the future. Councillor Eric Plenderleath, executive member for culture and community, said: ‘The targets set to achieve this accreditation have encouraged innovation and improvement and I look forward to seeing this success continue.’
Resort appointment
DE VERE Deluxe has appointed Katie Mitchell as its people development manager at Carden Park Golf Resort and Spa. The role of people development manager has been newly created for Carden Park and covers everything from general HR activities to raising the profile of Carden Park in the area, including building closer links with schools and colleges. Katie, who is supported by her colleague Debbie Corbett, will also be looking to work with tourist board Visit Chester and Cheshire. Carden Park is a key employer of local talent from Cheshire in the hotel, its four restaurants, golf and spa facilities. Katie joins De Vere from Volkswagen’s HQ in Milton Keynes where she was learning and development manager. Her previous hotel experience includes the Marriot Group and Bourne Leisure Group.
Vision Support unit
VISION Support’s mobile resource unit, which offers a wide range of services to anyone with sight loss, will be at Tarporley Community Centre on Thursday, October 18, from 10am-3pm. The unit will also be at Helsby Community Centre in Lower Robin Hood Lane on Tuesday, October 16, from 10am-2.30pm. Trained advisers will be on hand to explain the latest equipment, which will be on the vehicle. This includes low vision aids and specialised text readers, as well as practical items that can enhance the quality of life and maintain the independence of those with a visual impairment. The vehicles are designed for easy access for people with disabilities including a removable ramp for wheelchair use. ■ For more information ring 01244 381515 or visit www.visionsupport.org.uk.
Commendations
THE family of the late city councillor John Boughton have made two commendations to people who they felt deserved a special mention. They were awarded to Ian McKay from Elton for his long-standing work and commitment to Elton Community Centre and to Keith Emerton from Guilden Sutton for his hard work with and support for the local badminton club and work with children and young people through summer play schemes over a number of years.
Come and meeT
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DISTURBED MIND: Tristan Mayers.
Bus firm
takes on temporary drivers
AN UNDER-FIRE bus company has been forced to hire temporary drivers after shortages led to some services being cancelled. First Group promised to ‘take good care of Chester’s bus services’ after buying the city council-owned company but almost immediately announced plans to cut loss-making routes, leading to complaints. And the latest grievance comes from passengers using the No 5 route from the city centre to Huntington. Service user Rosa Fellows said it often failed to turn up. She said the 10.35am and 11.05am services on Tuesday had failed to materialise. ‘Other passengers have been told there are
not enough drivers,’ she said. ‘Yet they are flooding Blacon and Saughall with buses which are often half empty.’ Ken Poole, First’s managing director for bus services in Chester and Wirral, accepted there had been problems but blamed the way the council-run bus company, ChesterBus, had operated and would not rule out further disruption. He said: ‘There has been some disruption in the normal operation of service 5 and I’d like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience they have encountered as a consequence. ‘Combining the two bus companies has brought
By David Holmes
to light a number of operational anomalies, some of which have impacted current service reliability. However, we have introduced an action plan to address the situation and are monitoring its success very closely. ‘In Chester it is reported that customers have expressed concern about the number of drivers. The ChesterBus business operated with just enough drivers to deliver the services, which did not allow any slack to compensate for absence, illness or holidays. ‘As part of the action plan mentioned earlier we are therefore bringing in a number of temporary drivers to provide cover and ensure that any disruption is reduced to an absolute minimum. ‘As we continue the work to integrate the Ches-
who will be signing copies of his latest book Thursday 18 oCTober 5Pm - 6Pm
terBus business we are meeting and successfully overcoming the challenges of introducing both operational and cultural change. ‘When this work is complete all our customers, employees and stakeholders will enjoy the real benefits.’
ACTION PLAN: First manager Ken Poole.
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