May is ME Awareness Month and once again I am participating in the virtual campaigns online to help raise awareness of this life-destroying illness called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Today I'm sharing my story. How did I become so terribly ill and housebound? When did it happen? And how long did I have to wait for a diagnosis? Here's my ME story:
Today I am sharing a guest post by Shona Smith. I must admit, I have mixed feelings about this topic, but it is an important issue and needs to be addressed. It is not just a few isolated cases, pastoral care in the church is something that is in desperate need of an overhaul. This shouldn't be an issue, but sadly it is and Shona is working hard to find solutions.
I hope you do not relate to our shared experience, but if you do or know of somebody who might, please participate in the surveys and help us move towards better pastoral care in the church.
So many of us with chronic illness were leading such busy active lives full of people and places and we were church members, regularly enjoying spending time and energy with like minded friends and often serving and caring for each other in the crises of life. BUT when we have been absent for a while it seems like we are easily forgotten. Do you recognise your experience in the musings below?
May is #MEAwarenessMonth and I thought, since many of us cannot go to the live #MillionsMissing events in person, I'd like to help my fellow people with ME (pwME) to raise awareness online by offering you personalised Millions Missing posters!
I know you are an incredibly creative and driven group of people, but I also know that many are too ill to use their skills and talents as they would like to and cognitive dysfunction as well as physical incapacity often makes using a device or learning new things very difficult. So I hope this free community service will be helpful to you.
Today I am excited to share Lynley's story. She has been living with chronic pain and osteoporosis for years and is sharing how her life has changed and how she not only gets through, but celebrates life despite her conditions.
This interview is part of an ongoing series where warriors from around the world share their struggles and victories as they navigate life with various chronic illnesses and invisible disabilities. I hope you will be encouraged and perhaps even find new friends or support through this amazing community of warriors.
Ironically my life was super busy and active during the weeks and months before the onset of what lead to my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis. There seems to be the general belief that we are tired or lazy or that we have some sort of unhealthy aversion or fear of exercise, but nothing could be further from the truth!
As we move towards ME Awareness Month (May), I wanted to share some of my health and fitness memories from the week before I fell ill. I hope that this will help to dispell the idea that we are lazy and afraid of exercise and help people understand that the opposite is actually true. Now I know that healthy eating and exercise simply doesn't cure everything.