Man Finally Finds The Stranger Who Talked Him Out Of Suicide Attempt 6 Years Ago
A video blogger who was stopped by a stranger from jumping into the River Thames has been reunited with the man who saved him six years ago.
By Sadho Ram — 01 Feb 2014, 02:46 AM — Updated almost 11 years ago
Earlier this month, a man from the U.K. named Jonny Benjamin started a social media campaign called #FindMike to track down the stranger who convinced him not to end his life in 2008
Jonny Benjamin, 26, was on Waterloo Bridge in January 2008 after being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder when Neil Laybourn intervened.
Mr Benjamin had climbed up on to a ledge on the bridge after spending a month in hospital following his diagnosis, but Mike talked to him and offered to buy him a coffee.
mirror.co.ukThis week, Benjamin found "Mike," whose real name is Neil Laybourn, according to Rethink Mental Illness, the organization that helped launch Benjamin's search
When Neil Laybourn’s fiancé alerted him to Mr Benjamin’s story, he knew immediately that he was the passer-by Jonny was looking for. The pair were reunited on Tuesday.
"I was so pleased to see how well Jonny was doing, I had thought about him over the years and had always hoped he was OK," the 31-year-old personal trainer said.
Speaking about the incident, 'Mike' said: "I didn’t feel it was that big a deal, I did what anyone would do."
"I wasn’t trying to fix his problems that day, I just listened. Hand on heart that Jonny is one of the nicest people I have ever met, it’s brilliant to see him smiling again. We’ll definitely stay in touch," he added.
mirror.co.uk
"It was incredible [meeting Jonny], really nice, very emotional for both of us and really nice to have a conclusion to it and to hear Johnny's side of things that day."