The family of a mum who decided to end her own life hope her story will help other people to seek help.
Kelly Burndred, 37, died at her Staffordshire home last month, and her husband Gareth has spoken out, saying: "I'm hoping Kelly's story can inspire people to open up."
Earlier this year, Kelly - who worked for Stoke-on-Trent City Council - admitted she needed help for her mental health issues after struggling with depression since being bullied at school from the age of 14.
An NHS appointment was cancelled in April and rescheduled for the end of June.
Desperate to get help as soon as possible, Chesterton residents Kelly and her husband of 10 years rang Nuffield Health and got an appointment where she was prescribed new medication.
But just three days later Kelly took her own life on April 28, report Stoke on Trent Live .
Gareth said: "I'll never forget what I saw. I thought she was asleep. When I touched her, and she was cold, I can't get that out of my head. It's something I wake up in the night with.
"Since then it's been a bit of a numb whirlwind. I'm 36 and I never expected to be arranging my wife's funeral. It never got to the stage where I thought she would do this.
"Kelly's mental health issues stemmed from a lot of bullying at school. She was always a big girl so she received unfair treatment from some pupils.
"She had a gastric bypass in 2015. She had peaked at 30-stone and eventually got down to 10-and-a-half stone. Since 2015 her depression seemed to get worse. She would have lows where she wouldn't want to talk to anyone or leave the house.
"She was still young and had started the process of getting help. We had booked to go to Corfu for our 10th wedding anniversary so it wasn't as if she had been planning this for a while.
"Our lives have been turned upside down and we miss her terribly, but she is in a better place now. The fact I'll never see her again hurts. She was everybody's best friend and as a mum she was amazing."
Gareth hopes Kelly's story will urge those going through difficult times to open up and talk.
He said: "This is such a real thing we are dealing with. There seems to be a stigma attached to mental health but I'm living with what mental health does to someone.
"I'm hoping Kelly's story can inspire people to open up, even if just one person opens up, or one life is saved, that will be her legacy and she would be very proud."
Kelly's mum, Doreen Moran, has also issued a plea for those experiencing difficult times to talk to someone.
The 61-year-old foster carer said: "The last few weeks have been dreadful. It's been as if I'm dreaming. She always said how much she loved us all. I didn’t have any inkling that she would do this.
"I want people who have children of their own to kiss and love them every day like we did with Kelly. She will be missed by loads of people.
"If this can help one person or save one person she wouldn’t have died for nothing."
If you need to speak to someone, Samaritans are available 24/7 by calling 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org
