A MUM-OF-FOUR has bravely spoken out about the suicide of her doctor husband in a bid to end the stigma surrounding mental health.

Dr Terry Creasy, a consultant interventional radiologist at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, had been signed off work with depression however tragically on the day he was due to return, he decided to end his life.

Pippa said: “He was in his suit and ready to go. He gave me a hug in the kitchen and I said to him ‘I’m so proud of you. You’re going back to work, just amazing.’

"He gave a thumbs up at the door and I drove off.

“The children were ringing his phone to say ‘well done Dad, we’re so proud of you’.

"We were all believing he was going to be okay. We had no idea.

“I came back home and I could see the leaves on his car. I knew then, he hadn’t gone to work and my heart just sank.”

Five years on, Pippa is taking on the challenge of her life by running the London Marathon this Sunday with two of her children Will and Henrietta.

They are raising money and awareness for CALM, Campaign Against Living Miserably - a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, in support of the royals’ mental health campaign Heads Together, the charity of the year for this year’s marathon.

Pippa, who even ran alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry on a training day ahead of the 26.2 mile challenge, said: “Suicide was not a word we thought would be associated with us.

“Nevertheless five years after tragically losing the head of our very special family, we find ourselves hoping to use the experience to raise awareness of what is the biggest cause of death of men under the age of 45 in the UK.

“As incomprehensible as this statistic sounds – husbands, fathers, brothers and sons are being lost to a silent killer that as a society we find difficult to talk about. It is time to start the conversation.”

Pippa, who met Terry when she was just 21 in Cambridge when she worked as a medical secretary and he studied at Cambridge University, said the marathon training has forced the family to talk more about the day they will never be able forget – 24 September 2012.

The 59-year-old said: “Terry and I just got on really well and we were always together, we lived together, we were just a team basically. We had these four amazing children and we went on a journey together.

“He was the most amazing doctor. He was so good at his job. Unfortunately the pressure of being a doctor in that position meant he felt he couldn’t actually let his guard down and he never told anyone he never felt right. "As a male, and a doctor, this placed Terry in one of the highest risk groups of all. ”

Six weeks before Terry took his own life, Pippa said he was signed off work with stress.

“There was only six weeks that we knew there was something the matter," she explained.

“He was never going to drop his guard with any of us. That’s the painful thing about suicide. It is devastating because at the last minute, we feel we failed him.

“That’s why we are so fortunate to be running for CALM and it is so good the royals have started Heads Together and that William and Harry are talking so openly, because they have allowed people to have a conversation and they have made us talk about suicide when before we were avoiding the word.

“You never would have thought Terry would choose to end his life but afterwards we realised maybe it was too much pressure. It is desperately sad he wasn’t able to talk because nobody had any idea.

“We’re doing this though to help other people. We want to do whatever we can to help.

“We’ve all got mental health issues. Too often people feel afraid to admit they are struggling; this fear of prejudice and judgment stops people from seeking help and can destroy families and end lives. We want to say it is okay to talk.”

There is not a day that goes by that Pippa, Alexandra, 31, Henrietta, 30, George, 28, and William, 25, do not think about Terry and the family hope their story will encourage others to get support.

“My children are my rocks," said Pippa.

"When William graduated, he said I was the glue that kept them together but I’d say those four are my rocks. We are the most amazing team.

“I know we will be alright but every day we think about Terry and I know he would have been so proud of the children. He absolutely adored his children.

“With the growth of our family his absence is more noticeable than ever, and we miss him dearly. It’s the milestones. Both girls are married now and Alexandra has our first grandson Fergus. It’s those times I say to myself ‘Terry I can’t believe you are not here.’

“However now we have lived through this awful way of dying, it’s made us realise life is for living. We choose not to be defined by suicide. We won’t have this chance to live again, we’re here for such a short time and it’s really important for us to treasure those special moments in life.

“We will run for CALM, for Heads Together and for Terry and we’re hoping to cross the line together.”

To sponsor the Creasy family go to virginmoneygiving.com/CreasyHeadsTogether