Paddling hope
I was just weaving my way round the web when I came across these little slices on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã - , and The Times - .
The articles are about Anna Hemmings, an elite flat water canoeist, and her battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS / ME), and her comback to regain her world title at the Championships in Perth.
It's a subject close to this mutant host's heart. CFS is an illness that's much maligned and misunderstood by the medical profession, and by people in the street. Hosts (I hate the word 'sufferer' - it's so negative) tend to have type A personalities: we make the Duracell Bunny look lazy! Life is literally turned upside down in every way possible. A plethora of weird and not-so-wonderful symptoms appear, including extreme and debilitating exhaustion, insomnia and muscle pain. Why? It is a neurological, immunological and hormonal condition. It's reckoned that the hypothalmus - the part of the brain that controls all key body functions - goes bananas. As a result, it causes utter havoc with all the systems of the body and makes life absolute hell - take it from one who knows!
Recovery - if it happens - is more of an than a science, and what works for one person may not for another. This can take years. It's reckoned that 20% have full remission; for 60% it's partial; 20% remain severe. However, the potential for relapse is always there (host status is for life, not just Christmas!). So the story of Anna Hemmings essentially gives hope that recovery can happen. It illustrates - for anyone - that even when the odds are stacked against you there is a chance that you, not the house, will win.
Comments
i'm not sure about the type a personality bit mind. Recovery would be a bit simpler if you didn't have to spend all your energy convincing doctors your ill so that you can get a bit of help to get into the getting better stage. And that improvement caused by a high dose of steriod for asthma doesn't count in the real world especially when they make you psychotic. I'll trade anyone for a different side effect if they want. I recon mind that it's the same old "we won't understand it and it'll all go away".
As a chronic 'host' who has had treatment which has resulted in neurological damage and big patches of memory loss. I have mixed feelings about those who conquer CFS as it leads people to think if we only had a more positive frame of mind we could be doing the same. I have spent the last 30 years trying to prove I wasn't hysterical, I do have a genuine condition, I have tried. honest.