Writing about M.E.

I've decided something this morning.  I woke at 5am, many flying thoughts in my brain.  One strong one was:-  "I must go back to writing my book about ME - it's time". 

22 years ago, when I was 20 (gulp, is it really that long ago), I became ill.  Flu.  That's what we thought it was, a really bad case of flu that turned up on christmas eve in 1988.  I was living and working away in Manchester and feeling so terribly ill, having no flatmate as she'd gone away, my mum came over to pick me up, pack a few things for me and take me home to Liverpool.  

Little did I know that I would never return.  Never return back to work, back to the flat, or back to life (well at least for 6 years). 

As you do, when you have flu, you sleep.  We're talking, proper flu here, not a cold where you struggle on.   I could not shift it - it was hanging around and the doc thought I had glandular fever, so I had a fair few tests which all came back negative.  (This is quite usual when being first diagnosed.).

It was only by the end of February that I was referred to see a consultant who diagnosed M.E.

"M what?"

"M.E.  It stands for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also knows as chronic fatigue syndrome".

That was really the beginning of the unfolding self healing journey.  I didn't know it right back then but that is exactly what I would embark upon.   Self healing.  I learnt very quickly that nothing within western medicine could help, there were no pills, no treatments (albeit some small rumblings of research and thoughts).  Just the unfortunate tag of 'yuppie flu'.  Oh goddess how that phrase hurt.

I have diaries that I wrote during this time which record how I was feeling, the treatments I had, mostly complementary, the weird and wonderful practitioners I met, not forgetting the personalities in my life that kept me going, ones who made me want to hide and the few who I wanted to award an oscar.

So at 5am I decided I'm going to continue with this writing which I started recently but have put on hold, it feels right now and through my blog I can post snapshots as I write.  It will hopefully keep me on track.

M.E lasted until I was about 28 although at 26 I was able to go to university to study an honours degree.  It wasn't until I was 30 that I really felt completely well.  

So 12 years on, I can honestly say that I walked the path and came out the other side.  I'm one of the lucky ones.