There are thought to be up to 265,000 people in the UK who are living with M.E. My mum and aunt are just two of the people 'hidden' in those large numbers...which is an appropriate word to use as this is a hidden condition.

I am completing 1,000 burpees on M.E. Awareness Day 2022 as a fitting tribute to help highlight the constant challenge that those living with M.E. have in continuing to keep getting up time after time again...and hopefully raising funds for the M.E. Association at the same time.

The burpee consists of a movement down to a plank and then jumping back up to a standing position. It will be around 3 hours of real pain and suffering to do that over and over again; just as it is day in and day out to keep going for a person living with this condition.

No matter how active somebody's life was prior to being diagnosed with M.E., anybody living with M.E. will be able to tell you about the way that their body is sapped of all energy at times and the severe joint pains they endure. A lot of these individuals will also suffer from depression, stomach issues, lack of concentration and more generally, chronic fatigue. It is hard to explain to somebody who doesn't know anybody with M.E. but my mum once best explained it to me as being like having jet lag all of the time.

I will be doing these burpees in a public space in Wigan Town Centre, something that I am not comfortable in doing whatsoever. However, people living with M.E. are, through no choice of their own, hidden away, often spending days, weeks and even months confined to their bedrooms, unable to summon up the energy to leave and be seen by the outside world. I hope to help raise awareness by suffering out in the open on behalf of my mum, aunt and others living with M.E. 

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