devoted_toucan

I know this is long, but please bear with me.
May 1st was ‘Blogging Against Disablism Day’. 2010 was the first time I’d heard about the blogging event. I read several interesting posts, including one with a poem asking for the world to look past the wheelchairs, walking frames, and white sticks of the “kids who are different” – whilst moving, this is the opposite of what myself and others are asking the world to do for those with the illness I have. We need to be seen, heard, and helped.
This year, M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) Awareness Week falls on the 9th to the 15th /16th of May (with International M.E Awareness Day being on the 12th to commemorate the birthday of Florence Nightingdale, who it’s thought might have developed the illness).
The symptoms are different (yet similar) for everyone. There are neurological, cognitive, cardiac, cardiovascular, immunological, muscular and gastrointestinal (and other) symptoms.. They include: impairment of temperature control; poor concentration and memory; abnormal sweating; sleep disturbance; severe fatigue (induced or increased y physical activity and mental activity); nausea; vomiting; muscle and joint pain; headaches; dizziness; sore throats; heart palpitations; shortness of breath; being over sensitive to light and/or noise and smell; balance problems; muscle twitching; blurred vision; dyslexia; “brain fog”; emotional instability, and many others. It’s said to be characterised by post encephalitic damage to the brain stem (supposedly damaged in all M.E sufferers). The severity varies from person to person, with ...