Once a year (or multiple times depending on how many charities you support!) comes the awareness week. This week is International ME Awareness Week. Chosen to be this week because it is believed Florence Nightingale suffered a form of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome towards the end of her life and her birthday was 12th May.
Today is my birthday and as a token of their friendship my nearest and dearest have been on a walk this morning, a Walk For ME (link-donations readily accepted!) I made cake yesterday and because of standing and moving around in the kitchen, (using my Kenwood mixer) my legs, but mostly my knees and hips just couldn't make it out of the door to join them.
So they returned triumphant, having worked off enough calories to allow pieces of sugar heaven to be demolished with tea and coffee.
The conversation couldn't be anything but how differently the media attempts to explain these medical phenomena that attract our attention day to day. After the scandal over the MMR vaccine over twenty years ago, there are now consequences showing in hospitals across south Wales as I write. The distinctive nickname "yuppie flu" coined in the eighties, now gives so many patients of ME a battle before they've even made it out of the Doctor's consultation room with a diagnosis.
This is what awareness week is all about, no matter what illness is encountered, no matter who is making noise, these weeks show a more compassionate view of confusing diagnoses. Understanding the real people is what happens here and usually(!) the true side of the illness is shown. With World Wide Web access to multiple streams of information, there is no longer the excuse to say "Oh, I didn't realise". We can all make it our point to realise and if we find fabulous information we can make it known to as many people as possible, to keep spreading the words which make sense.
Here's a few of my favourite links:
Hi! I had no idea it was ME awareness week. I would have blogged about it too.
ReplyDeleteHope your doing well, and not suffering too much xx
Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteI have no other way of contacting you.
There's a Super Sweet Blogging Award going around the blogosphere, it's a little bit of fun and a means of recommending new blogs to existing readers. I've been a silent follower of your blog for a while now so I'll be nominating/recommending your blog :)