Imagine having a great, long day of doing your favourite
thing with your favourite people.

You’re worn out, but as you reflect on the day you’re still
smiling, content in the knowledge that you’ve had a great day. Blue skies. Laughter. Smiling.

You snuggle up in your nice, cosy bed. You pull your duvet
up to your face and your head sinks into your favourite pillows as you shut your eyes and fall into a long, restful slumber. Just what you needed to recharge.

Now imagine waking up. You’re refreshed, right? You’re ready
to attack whatever obstacle the day throws at you.

Except… maybe you’re not.

Imagine waking from your sleep and feeling just as tired as you were the moment before you closed your eyes.

That feeling of tiredness is no longer a moment of warm comfort as you fall into the arms of a restful sleep; it’s a burden you carry through your body all day long. The tiredness drags you down with each passing moment and every small task; clawing at your ability to function as you have done before.

Now imagine the same feeling, but compounded and multiplied by every time you wake up in the morning. Every single day you fall asleep only to feel as bad or worse as the night before.

You are too tired to move. Too tired to work. Too tired to talk. Your bones hurt. You cry. You feel alone. You can’t plan your life, because you know that this tiredness is holding your life hostage. You are a prisoner to your own body as it attacks the very essence of your vitality.

It’s hard to imagine. That’s because…

This is not my reality.

It’s probably not yours.

It is however my beautiful sister’s life.

She has chronic fatigue, also known as ME.

Liz is a victim to a condition that is little understood by society, or by science. Embarrassingly, it’s little understood by me either.

She is an intelligent, sparky, soulful, gorgeous human being, who, from time to time falls into the claws of this vicious condition. She has to go dark and isolate herself while she builds up her energy again. It tears up my soul that a human being this beautiful inside and out should be allowed to suffer as she does, and there be nothing we can do to help.

It’s not her fault – but there isn’t a lot she can do to help what’s happening to her.

In September, I’m doing something silly by attempting to complete a half Iron Man (1.9km Swim, 90km Bike, 21km run). I’m not going to kid you – it’s something I want to do. BUT, that doesn’t mean I should neglect this opportunity to do something to help raise awareness for this condition through something people deem as worthy of putting a few quid towards.

ME doesn’t have a cure. There are a few theories that are being worked on right now to combat it, but none have been successful just yet. These studies inevitably require money to make them run, so I’m going to try and do my bit to try and help my little sister out. Wouldn’t you do the same if you had a family member suffering?

I’ve set up this JustGiving page to allow you to sponsor me for the half iron man, with a view to supporting ME research. I’m not expecting much, but I know the people I have been lucky to surround myself with are generous and wonderful human beings. If you could give whatever little amount you could to this cause, then we are a little amount closer to finding the solution to this condition.

Hopefully you can help. Any support is amazing. Help my little sister and people like her regain the privilege of a life full of soul, happiness, and restful sleep. Help her gain her life back.