Thank you for taking the time to visit my page!

** I know this is quite a long read, but it was really important to me to challenge myself to express my feelings, and how my life is with ME, in ways that I have not before. It’s been 6months in the making so I can’t begin to tell you how much I would appreciate you reading as much as you are able - But please feel free to read the ‘short and simple’ version at the bottom of the page if you need it. **

10 years of having M.E. – not the easiest thing, to say the least! But that’s exactly why I want to celebrate my 10 year anniversary. I want to celebrate The strength it has taken to get through these past 10 yearsand the journey I have been on – the big things, the little things, the everyday things.

The question is, how to do that? How can I find a way to celebrate something with everyone when I have such limitations?

I have always loved spending time with family and friends – I think it is one of life‘s greatest pleasures to feel connected to others, to spend time with one another, face-to-face. But since getting ME this has become a pleasure I am not able to enjoy nearly as much as I would like, as every visit takes a lot of my energy and mental /cognitive Headspace. Last year I managed 6 lots of visitors – it was my best year yet and was simply wonderful!

As you can imagine it is hard not having that regular face-to-face contact with family and friends, especially when messaging is also difficult to do.

I am so lucky to have such wonderful, loving and understanding family and friends, and I miss them all so very much. I desperately wish I could see them all more, be a more constant presence in their lives, be able to chat like we used to, have fun like we used to, laugh like we used to.

So that’s why I chose my fundraiser to be my own version of a virtual tea party! It’s a chance to celebrate my special day with everyone, in my own unique way…

A TEA PARTY WITH A TWIST!

My virtual tea party will be held on Monday 30th July 2018, which is the actual day of my 10 year anniversary (or should I say ME-versary!).

Throughout the day, I’ll post pictures of myself enjoying my many cuppas (I do love tea!) during my normal daily routine, giving you a glimpse into my day to day life.

You can follow my day via my JustGiving page:

www.justgiving.com/alison-woodland

or via the public Facebook group:

‘Alison’s Anniversary Tea Party (With A Twist!) - A Virtual Tea Party’

Absolutely anyone and everyone is invited! – The more the merrier – so please share this party with as many people as you can and invite them to join the Facebook group “Alison's Anniversary Tea Party (With A Twist!)”... let’s make this a party to remember!

How can you join the party? It’s simple! All you have to do is donate the price that you would spend on a cuppa! Or maybe it’s a cuppa and a cake that takes your fancy?! or why not go the whole hog - a cuppa with a luxury cream tea (yum!)?!

There are two easy and secure ways you can do this:

To donate the price of a cuppa text:

CUPA96
£1

To: 70070

To donate the price of a cuppa and a cake text:

CUPA96
£3

To: 70070

To donate the price of a cuppa with a cream tea text:

CUPA96
£5

To: 70070

Or you can donate any amount via my JustGiving page:

www.justgiving.com/alison-woodland

And, if you fancy, you can post a picture of yourself enjoying your cuppa to the public Facebook group:
‘Alison’s Anniversary Tea Party (With A Twist!) - A Virtual Tea Party’

I would love to see you there!

Please note that In order to cope with this event, many of the posts will have been written in advance and tweaked on the day. But all photos will be taken live on the day of my virtual party! A thank you must be said to my Mum for helping me with all this, and making all the cups of tea (both today and for the last 10 years)!!

My challenge, for this fundraiser, comes in two parts:
• MY MENTAL CHALLENGE - currently, I am able to do about 10 minutes of mental activity in a day. so, as you can imagine, putting this fundraiser together is quite a challenge, which is why I have been working on it, on and off, bit by bit, for the past six months.
• MY EMOTIONAL CHALLENGE - I’m trying to be honest, be real and show you the true picture of what life with ME is like. Be myself, just as I am, and challenge myself to express some of my feelings to the world. Some of which I have not voiced out loud to many. I’m not going to lie, it’s a little scary! But surely that’s a great reason to do it, right?! I feel like it’s a really positive thing for me to do, both for myself and for raising awareness of ME.

When asked “how are you?” My usual answer is “not bad thanks”, because, to be honest, it’s easiest! It’s so hard to explain to people what it’s like having ME. But, this fundraiser is all about me being honest and putting it out there – so, in the interests of doing just that, I’m going to tell you how it is, the symptoms that I deal with on a day-to-day basis, the symptoms people with ME have to learn to accept and manage, The symptoms that most people don’t think of when they say “ME… That’s the one where you get tired isn’t it?“ …

I think many people with ME, would say they wish it was just tiredness – it’s a bit like saying a broken leg is just a scratch! For me, the “tiredness’ symptom is beyond anything I have experienced before – it is a draining, debilitating, nauseas, mind boggling state of fatigue that leaves your body struggling to function.

And then there is the other type of fatigue -. It’s a restless, unsettled, adrenaline fuelled, wired, body jerking, hyper fatigue that is full of tension physically, mentally and emotionally - it comes when you have overdone it. It is so intense, and personally I find it the hardest to deal with as it makes you feel like you desperately need to be doing something, despite knowing you have absolutely nothing left in you. This is always a dangerous time as it is so very easy to act on these feelings and over do it even more, causing a vicious circle!

There is so much more to ME than just that. There are such a wide range of symptoms which different people will experience to different degrees....

(To read the rest of my story please go to my Facebook group 'Alison’s Anniversary Tea Party (With A Twist) - A Virtual Tea Party' - you will find my whole story posted at the bottom of the page)