M.E article
It really is silly just how many people do believe M.E is all in the mind. Time for a mini rant.
All my life I have enjoyed being VERY active. Up until 7 years ago I cycled or walked almost everywhere within 15 miles. I worked 12 hour shifts as a nurse, I enjoyed decorating my home, loved gardenning and loved nothing more on a weekend off than to pack up and go to the Lake district, camping and hiking, pushing myself to the limit and climbing more hills each time. Life changed a bit, I moved, got divorced and changed jobs, but continued to be very active right up until the week before the M.E hit me hard, hiking and snorkelling on holiday on Bali. Then suddenly I could barely make it up one flight of stairs, I often had to stop twice, or ascend a couple of steps at a time on my bum. I couldnt dry my hair with the hair dryer, struggled to hoover one small room or prepare a meal.
I did not take this lightly. It took 7 months before my GP agreed with me that it may be M.E and I was not referred to a specialist and got very little information, my doctors were pretty poor to be honest. It wasnt until a good couple of years on that I actually had a consultation with a specialist, resulting in several further appointments with an Occupational therapist. Overall the amount of input from the NHS has been negligble and pretty poor. I have learned more and helped myself more by researching the condition, keeping up to date, talking to other suffers and by learning how to pace my activities.
The single most frustrating thing about having M.E for me is not being able to be active, I miss cycling, hiking, swimming, pushing myself to my limits by trying to cycle a route faster each time. Now, although I have adapted, I still get frustrated as I have learned new skills and have new dreams, yet because of the M.E it is incredibly difficult to make those dreams come true. i have so many wonderful ideas that I want to bring to fruition, but I can only manage them very slowly and often with some assitance from friends or family. If I did not have this condition then life would be so different, my determination would take me far and I know that I could achieve so much. As it is I still have that stubborn determination and will just have to plod away slowly at my goals.
I openly welcome anyone who does not believe that M.E is a physical illness to come and spend time with me, see me on my good days and my bad days. See the sheer determination it takes to get through just half a day of what any well person considers an average day and then observe the effects over the following days, then look me in the eye and tell me I am lazy!
rant over for now.....
No comments:
Post a Comment