'I will never be that same person again' - mother of troubled Aviemore teen found dead near hospital
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Samantha Taylor says she will never get over the death of her daughter who took her own life after disappearing from New Craigs Hospital in Inverness.
Jade McGrath (19) was found in nearby woodland 11 days after she walked out of the hospital in November 2018.
She had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder which Mrs Taylor believed could be traced back to her being bullied as a child.
Mrs Taylor (49) lives with her husband Robert – Jade’s stepfather – and her 11-year-old daughter in Carrbridge.
“On a day-to-day basis, sometimes I don’t cope,” she said. “But I have no choice but to keep functioning for my other daughter and her father.
“I guess that motivates me to keep going.”
Mrs Taylor, who runs her own food business, The Burger Box, also felt she was a workaholic in a bid to occupy her thoughts.
“Before, I had a lot more confidence,” she said. “I will never be that person again.”
She said Jade’s death had devastated the family including her grandparents.
Mrs Taylor said Jade, who had attended Grantown Grammar School and later Millburn Academy in Inverness, started to struggle from the age of 13 onwards.
But she has fond memories of her daughter.
“She was quirky,” she reflected. “She was funny and creative and sharp-witted.
“She liked going out and mixing with people.”
Jade was admitted to New Craigs suffering severe anxiety several months after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
But Mrs Taylor felt the staff were disinterested.
“They would not make eye contact with me at all,” she said.
Since Jade’s death, Mrs Taylor has undertaken fundraisers to help mental health charities.
She and her husband and daughter completed an 80-mile cycle ride around Loch Ness.
“It took us four days and it was really rough terrain,” she said.
They raised £3500 for the Scottish Association for Mental Health.
For information about the charity, visit www.samh.org.uk.
