Dear Mr. Plotz,
I hear that by now you have received at least a couple other emails on the topic of your quip on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome from a blog post several years back titled "The Complete Book of Exodus". Though I would trust that by now you have learned enough facts about this truly debilitating illness to realize how poorly your joke came across for those who suffer from it (along with their caretakers and doctors) I thought it worthwhile to give you my feedback. For reference, I am quoting the section in question with the offending statement in bold:
"Moses now moans that he can't go because he's a poor speaker, "slow of speech and slow of tongue." God would have smitten any other human who tried Him so, but He merely rebukes Moses: "Who gives a man speech? … Is it not I, the Lord?" This doesn't deter the vexatious prophet. If he lived in the 21st century, this is the point when Moses would be showing God two doctors' notes diagnosing chronic fatigue syndrome."
Now I agree, "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" is just about the wimpiest name possible, and that makes it an easy target for those who want to get a laugh at the expense of a pathetic-sounding illness that, for all the audience knows, is just an excuse for laziness. Instead, your readers might be interested to know that Dr. Nancy G. Klimas, who works closely with both CFS and HIV, recently indicated that if she had to choose she'd rather have HIV due to the relative ease of symptoms compared to CFS:
"...I hope you are not saying that C.F.S. patients are not as ill as H.I.V. patients. My H.I.V. patients for the most part are hale and hearty thanks to three decades of intense and excellent research and billions of dollars invested. Many of my C.F.S. patients, on the other hand, are terribly ill and unable to work or participate in the care of their families.
I split my clinical time between the two illnesses, and I can tell you if I had to choose between the two illnesses (in 2009) I would rather have H.I.V."
When an M.D. who's intimately acquainted with both illnesses states that she personally would find HIV preferable to CFS in regard to symptoms, that ought to be a clear indication that CFS sufferers genuinely do experience very real physical symptoms that cause considerable agony and disability. That's no laughing matter.
How severe is the fatigue we're talking about? A recent study by Dr. Allan Light established an indication by measuring levels of receptor activity in those responsible for fatigue and for pain. Here is what he found:
"Beginning at 30 minutes after exercise and continuing at eight, 24 and 48 hours after exercise, CFS patients showed increases of the P type of ion channel receptor activity up to four times its pre-exercise level while healthy subjects showed no increase at all. These receptors seemed especially sensitive to fatigue. The graph of the results is incredible; with CFS patients, receptor activity skyrockets while the healthy controls' results stay essentially at zero.
The activity of a receptor called Type A that’s been implicated in pain doubled in ME/CFS patients who also had FM and showed no increase in healthy subjects at all. Sympathetic nervous system (adrenergic) receptors that detect SNS activity were increased 2-6 times.
How active are these receptors? These sensors, not surprisingly, get really active in marathon runners but they still "never got as active in marathoners (after a 26-mile run ) as they did in ME/CFS/FM patients (after a mild 15-minute exercise period)."
In other words, CFS patients are not just making excuses; after a short amount of light exercise they actually feel symptoms of extreme exhaustion and pain comparable to or even possibly exceeding what a marathon runner experiences after a race.
There is much, much more information out there on the subject of CFS, but I am going to have to stop here. You see, I have CFS, and if I expend too much energy now I won't have enough left to fix my next meal, and I'd instead have to ask my caretaker to do that for me. Like all other CFS patients I know I prefer to do as much as I can without help.
I understand that you meant no harm by the quip, which is why I am hopeful that you will quickly resolve this matter to the satisfaction of all.
Thank you for reading; I appreciate your time.
Sincerely,
[Dainty]
