Amy Meadows

I have known Amy since we were at school together from the age of eleven. She has always been a fantastic achiever, but in the last two years she has utterly outdone herself. On 1 June 2009, Amy's mum tragically and suddenly took her own life following a short but intense period of depression. She had been suffering from the little understood condition of debilitating tinnitus as a side effect of her anti-depressant medication. Heartbroken, with two young children, as well as her Father and younger sister to support through their despair, Amy channeled her grief into setting up a charity to commission & fund research into tinnitus and depression. Her first fund raising venture was an art auction, which raised a whopping £65,000. Now, only two years later, the foundation has not only commissioned pioneering research into the condition, but Amy has gone even further - she has brought together all the charities working in this area to ensure that none overlap each other's work AND enable them to plan joint research which is relevant to all their objectives. I am awe struck by the way Amy has transformed her own sorrow and tragedy into an inspiring quest which will hopefully save people like her family from facing the grief that she has. I can think of no one better to carry the Olympic Torch.