'I never thought I'd reach that point, and if I can reach one person that helps a whole family'

Derry's new Shining Light Mental Health King 2023/24 said he never thought of himself as someone who would reach a point where he considered suicide, but this is what happened after seemingly endless months of isolation.

Keith said he wanted to share his experience of own struggles to help others who may be suffering from mental illness, and said that if it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone.

Mr Wright is well known locally as a River Radio host, the 'Irish Cowboy' and for his work helping people trace their ancestral roots.

He said that despite having suffered from physical ill health in the past, he never really considered that he could be affected by mental ill health.

"I suffer from high blood pressure, severe hypertension. I was feeling a wee bit down-hearted with that, because the more I did, the worse I got, nose bleeds, migraines, but I lived with it."

Then a small cut on his leg in 2018 turned septic. An infection set in, with cellulitis and an ulcer developing, leading to chronic pain as it spread to both legs.

"You could actually smell my legs when you took the bandages off, that is how bad it was. They were thinking of putting maggots into my legs. I was praying hard that didn't happen. Suddenly then it started to heal up but by that stage I had the bandages on for three years."

Along with the physical agony, Keith was advised when the issue first presented itself to stay off his feet and indoors as much as possible to limit the risk of the condition worsening. "Basically I was sitting in 24 hours a day and that was me housebound. Everyone knows me, I was always out and about. I'm used to talking to people but when I started to feel depressed I didn't talk about it.

"I had to lie in the living room floor for three years on my front because if I didn't the pain was shoot up. If I went to bed the pain was excruciating. I was just lying there, seeing nobody.”

It was during this long period of confinement that the first lockdowns were imposed, which compounded the isolation. Keith's mother alsao became seriously ill and went into hospital in 2020 and because of restrictions he couldn't see her.

"All this was going round in my head. My mental health went down bit by bit by bit. I reached a point where I thought, ‘if I go, no-one is going to miss me’. It got down to that point. I was ready to do it.”

What happened next was a seemingly unconnected series of occurences, small gestures which would prove life-changing.

“The moment I got to that point all of a sudden one of my cats was sitting beside me,” he said. “I've three cats from Rainbow Rehoming, Penny, Socks and Dollar, and Penny came in and the paw went up to my arm. That stopped me.

"It was scary: I was always the one saying, ‘auch you must be mad to go to that level’. It never dawned on me that it could happen to me. I thought I'd never be in that situation where I'd go, ‘that's it’. But then life's circumstances…. it can affect anyone."

The very next day a surprise visit began the journey back from the brink. Then Mayor Graham Warke called to Keith's house, unaware of what had been happening.

Mr Warke brought with him tickets to 'Country Comes to Town' at Ebrington Square after Keith compiled the Mayor's family tree. “The Mayor said to me, 'I know you, you won't go unless you got it yourself, but I want to see photographs of you there'. I told him about my legs and he said, 'don't worry we'll organise a chair for you'."

Despite his trepidation, Keith forced himself to go to the concert and while there ran into Gerard Doherty, founder of River Radio, whom he knew.

"Gerard turned around and said: 'Do you want a show?' I said, 'I wouldn't mind a show'. He said, when do you want to start. I gave it a good lot of thought first and we arranged it. He gave me free reign to a do a new Country show. So I started doing that on a Sunday night and doing that got me out of depression. It gave me a focus, something to concentrate on.

"Gerry doesn't know what he did for me in giving me that show. It was a crutch on a Sunday night. It got me connected back to the community again. And slowly the feeling of, ‘is it worth it?’ went away.

"We all get down at times but I don't have that feeling of dread any more.

"Then later I was given the opportunity to do the week day show. I thought hard about it.”

"I had been doing radio years ago when it was CDs, and now it was MP3s, WeTransfer. There's been a lot of changes in technology."

Keith helped out last year with the Shining Light pageant for Gerard, and after sharing his own experiences with some people there they encouraged him to go forward to compete. Initally reluctant, their persistence paid off and Keith said he was amazed to win the Mental Health King title and a second award for spreading awareness.

Out of this, Keith now sits on the NW Patient and Client Council and was invited to Belfast to sit in on a Department of Health meeting of the new Mental Health Strategy and hasd also been engaged by the Royal College of Nursing recently on several projects.

Now Keith wants to get out the word to other people locally, and hopes that by sharing his own experiences and raising awareness he can help others.

To help raise awareness, Keith is already in talks with bands and venues for a major live music event in the city, with details to come at a later date.

"If I can help one person, reach one person that is great because I am helping that one person's family. It has a ripple effect,” he said.

*Keith hosts ‘Let's Talk Local’ on weekdays 11am to 1pm and ‘Wright Up Country’ from 6pm to 9pm on Sundays on Derry's River Radio. You can listen in at https://streema.com/radios/River_FM_3

*Anyone in distress in NI can contact Lifeline on 0808 808 8000; The Samaritans on 02871 265511 or 116 123; Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or via www.childline.org.uk. Anyone in distress in RoI can contact Pieta House on 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444; TEXT Crisis Textline Ireland on 50808; Ring Samaritans 116-123.