Sonia Poulton (
https://www.facebook.com/sonia.poulton)
Woke to find a long e-mail from Professor Simon Wessley...for those who don't know, he is the big State cheese when it comes to ME...for many people his name represents years of their personal misery.
My recent article on ME, effectively, opposes his stance on the illness and I have been repeatedly warned that I can expect a communication from him...well it came...he says I 'may be surprised to discover' that he agrees with most of my article and then he goes on to detail how much of it he actually didn't like at all.
He didn't like me blaming psychiatry for standing in the way of research and treatment...he didn't like that I didn't give him credit for his 'contribution to the debate' and he most definitely did not like the idea that I say graded exercise is detrimental to the patient...oh no! That did not impress him at all.
He said it all in a very nice way but it doesn't take much to pick up the true tone of how someone feels about you...anyway, he invited me to meet him for a coffee to discuss his stance further...I have pointed out to him that I am extremely busy at the moment but I will be back in touch.
The truth is this...I have done my research, and he knows it, and while as a journalist I should always be prepared to hear the other side of the story (I am) there comes a point when you know what you know and no amount of sharp words can change that...