I am very proud to be running the 2018 London Marathon on behalf of Action for M.E. to raise funds for this brilliant charity. 

In the early 1990's when I was 13 I fell severely ill with a mysterious illness that completely changed my life. I suffered from chronic fatigue and constant pain in my joints, making it impossible to lead a normal life. I endured regular panic attacks, severe headaches and nausea with my weight plummeting due to lack of appetite or enjoyment of food. I became housebound, unable to go to school or have normal social interactions and my mental health suffered with extreme low mood.

At the time, my illness could not be diagnosed so no treatment could be found for me. My parents had a constant battle with my GP and health professionals to find out what was wrong and how I could improve my health. Various tests were carried out with no outcome, and I was even accused of being school phobic and faking my illness. Eventually, I was diagnosed as suffering from M.E. and it took me many years to recover to lead anything like a normal life.

M.E. is an extremely distressing and debilitating illness for those who suffer it and I consider myself lucky that my chronic symptoms did cease and I was able to recover. Not all are so lucky and many people with M.E. are unable to lead a life much beyond their own homes, spending long periods bed bound. Even today, the illness is not widely recognised or diagnosed by some health professionals and M.E. patients struggle to gain a proper diagnosis or receive the right treatment.

Action for M.E. carry out incredible work to support M.E. sufferers across the UK. They provide information and support to patients to help them cope with their illness and access treatments to improve their health. They campaign widely with the health community to improve diagnosis of the disease and help end the injustice, ignorance and neglect many sufferers experience with their condition. Action for M.E. are also behind many pioneering research initiatives to find ways to help improve treatment for M.E. patients and aim to find ways to prevent anyone suffering this terrible illness in the future.

Please help me raise the funds this important charity needs to continue helping people with M.E. and find ways to combat this horrible disease.

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