Hi,

Many of you are aware already that I’m running the Adidas 5k challenge on 6th September - it's taking place in and it starts at 11:00am.

Some of you but not all of you know that when I was 15 I became very unwell with a viral infection (Glandular Fever) due to this I was absent for the majority of year 10, there was a time when they thought I would probably have to be re-sit the whole year again but I was determined to prove everyone wrong. In Year 11 I studied hard and left school with 7 GCSE’s all ranging within “A-C.” Over the next few months I was constantly tired and becoming unwell I tried my hardest to live as normal life as possible but I just wasn’t feeling any better it wasn’t until I was referred to a Haematologist that I was formally diagnosed with have ME/CFS from there I was referred to Professor Findley (a specialist in ME/CFS.) When I was 19, I began to become unwell again and was told by my consultant that I had to give up work and basically put my life on hold. As you can imagine I was devastated I felt like a complete failure, but I did as I was told (I know many of you will be shocked as this is very rare!) It was a tough time, but with the support of my family and Dr’s I learnt to pace myself and listened to what my body was telling me, it took some time but I do believe that it’s made me a stronger person. I’ve been back to work for just over a year now and am attempting to live life as a normal 21 year old. Don’t get me wrong I still have my bad days but they are very few and far between. I know there are people out there that are suffering from ME which is a lot worse than mine and aren’t as fortunate as I was to have the love and support from their families. More needs to be done to make people aware of ME, I’ve found that not many people have heard of ME (I’ve written a bit about it below) and because it can not be seen they often don’t believe you (sometime which has happened to me on a number of occasions) I wanted to run for a charity which meant something to both me and my family therefore I've decided to run for the charity Action for ME.   

There are a number of different names for what is an illness of uncertain cause affecting many thousands of people. Currently it is estimated that some 250,000 people in are affected by this illness. 

Myalgic Encephalopathy or "ME" Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or "CFS"

Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome or "PVFS"

Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome or "CFIDS"

CFS/ME is defined as a condition that involves a severe fatigue that usually has a clear starting point, often after a bout of illness, and that doesn't improve after rest. It makes you less able to cope with levels of activity in your work, school or social life that were previously normal for you. CFS/ME isn't the result of over-exercising. Even normal physical activity may make you feel very tired.

Common symptoms of CFS/ME include:

muscle and joint pain, but with no swelling fatigue that lasts more than 24 hours after exercise or exertion at a level that you usually used to be able to manage without feeling tired forgetfulness, memory loss, confusion often known as brain fog, or difficulty concentrating sleep disturbances - waking up feeling tired or unrested or having trouble getting to sleep flu-like symptoms

Other symptoms that are sometimes present in CFS/ME include:

palpitations sweating feeling faint or problems with balance painful glands in your neck or armpits a sore throat headaches feeling sick mood swings

CFS usually lasts for months, often years. Most people improve over time and some people recover and are able to resume work and normal activities. However, others will continue having symptoms or may relapse, and some remain housebound.

If you want to know anymore I have attached a few links for you all to look at: -

http://www.afme.org.uk/  - the charity I’m running for

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Chronic-fatigue-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.meassociation.org.uk/

Thanks for taking the time for visiting my Just giving page and reading a little bit about my story. You’re all more than welcome to come and cheer me on it’d be great to see you all there. Please dig deep and let’s try and make a difference.

 

Lets do this!

 

Katie xxxxxx

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.