Re: Wolston ME sufferer aims for third half-marathon in six weeks, Coventry Telegraph, 19 October 2011
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Whether Alison Virgo has M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) or some other illness with chronic fatigue symptoms, which is not the same thing at all, the article about her marathon running (Wolston ME sufferer aims for third half-marathon in six weeks,Coventry Telegraph, 19 October 2011 - http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/ne...d-half-marathons-in-six-weeks-92746-29622358/) does a disservice to people with M.E. and may offer harmful advice to them and those who care for them.
Patients having conditions with some symptoms similar to M.E. claim intermittent and temporary relief from bursts of vigorous exercise, during an otherwise enforced sedentary lifestyle - for example, TV celebrity depression sufferer, Trisha Goddard's gym workouts - when their medication is sufficiently effective to permit them. If, however, M.E. sufferers attempt the same, they are likely to end up housebound, in a wheelchair, or bedridden, sometimes irrecoverably, as research and hard experience proves.
It is not true to say that there are many things worse than M.E., nor that M.E. is not life-threatening or terminal, as many grieving loved ones around the world know and there are memorial funds in some names to help fellow sufferers still living with it. I notice that, although a number of worthy causes are set to benefit from Alison's sponsorship, not a penny share seems to be going to fund research into the illness in the story's headline.
However many letters you receive in response to this article, or comments appear online below it, you should be aware that there are more than 30 - and rising - on social networking sites, groups and forums online, worldwide, repeating the points I have made here and making other well-informed comments you will be denied. It may be that those who posted them are not well enough even to copy & paste them here, or they may fear that the consequences of revealing themselves are worse than remaining invisible, since they expose themselves to disbelief, derision and ridicule and some may fear their children being taken into the care of social services, or being involuntarily treated in a locked psychiatric ward, as has been the fate for some. Your readers, in seeing this one letter, should try to appreciate, therefore, the reasons why and the extent to which M.E. is misrepresented.
Yours sincerely
drjohngreensmith@mecommunitytrust. org
Dr John H Greensmith
ME Community Trust. org
PERMISSION TO FORWARD AND RE-POST ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES, ONLINE GROUPS AND USE IN NEWSLETTERS. PLEASE RETWEET ON TWITTER.
Whether Alison Virgo has M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) or some other illness with chronic fatigue symptoms, which is not the same thing at all, the article about her marathon running (Wolston ME sufferer aims for third half-marathon in six weeks,Coventry Telegraph, 19 October 2011 - http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/ne...d-half-marathons-in-six-weeks-92746-29622358/) does a disservice to people with M.E. and may offer harmful advice to them and those who care for them.
Patients having conditions with some symptoms similar to M.E. claim intermittent and temporary relief from bursts of vigorous exercise, during an otherwise enforced sedentary lifestyle - for example, TV celebrity depression sufferer, Trisha Goddard's gym workouts - when their medication is sufficiently effective to permit them. If, however, M.E. sufferers attempt the same, they are likely to end up housebound, in a wheelchair, or bedridden, sometimes irrecoverably, as research and hard experience proves.
It is not true to say that there are many things worse than M.E., nor that M.E. is not life-threatening or terminal, as many grieving loved ones around the world know and there are memorial funds in some names to help fellow sufferers still living with it. I notice that, although a number of worthy causes are set to benefit from Alison's sponsorship, not a penny share seems to be going to fund research into the illness in the story's headline.
However many letters you receive in response to this article, or comments appear online below it, you should be aware that there are more than 30 - and rising - on social networking sites, groups and forums online, worldwide, repeating the points I have made here and making other well-informed comments you will be denied. It may be that those who posted them are not well enough even to copy & paste them here, or they may fear that the consequences of revealing themselves are worse than remaining invisible, since they expose themselves to disbelief, derision and ridicule and some may fear their children being taken into the care of social services, or being involuntarily treated in a locked psychiatric ward, as has been the fate for some. Your readers, in seeing this one letter, should try to appreciate, therefore, the reasons why and the extent to which M.E. is misrepresented.
Yours sincerely
drjohngreensmith@mecommunitytrust. org
Dr John H Greensmith
ME Community Trust. org
