A woman living with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (
ME/CFS) in Australia is desperately appealing for help to leave an abusive household.
The neglect and abuse the Australian state, healthcare system, disability, and domestic violence support services have routinely subjected her to has created a perfect storm – trapping her in this indefensible situation.
Her appalling and increasingly life-threatening circumstances underscores the systemic failure of services and support for both ME/CFS and domestic violence.
Layers of chronic illness: severe ME/CFS and long Covid
Anna – a person living with very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) living in Melbourne – is urgently seeking help to escape domestic abuse. She reached out to the
Canary and hopes that telling her story will draw attention to her critical situation.
ME/CFS
is a chronic systemic neuroimmune disease
which impacts at least 65 million people worldwide. The devastating disease
affects nearly every system in the body. It causes day-to-day flu-like symptoms, cognitive impairment, body-wide different forms of pain, as well as multiple dysfunctions impacting blood pressure, the heart, lungs, and digestive system. However, this is a non-exhaustive list.
Crucially, post-exertional-malaise (PEM)
is the hallmark symptom of ME/CFS, which entails a disproportionate worsening of many of these symptoms after even minimal physical or mental activities.
Anna has lived with ME/CFS for over 20 years. Like many living with ME/CFS, Anna also deals with a number of other debilitating chronic illnesses. These include endometriosis, hypothyroidism, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and adrenal disease, among others.
