3rd June 2018 was my last day of good health. Now, I’m in recovery from M.E. Forever shamelessly seeking an opportunity to eat cake, I’ve marked my sickaversary for the last few years!

This year, I invite you to join me for the occasion at a Blue Sunday Tea Party on Sunday 15th May! Fundraisers across the world will raise money at their tea parties for charities supporting people with M.E. I have chosen to fundraise for Action on M.E. for their emphasis on research, while also providing support in the UK. Without research, the adequate person-centred support, services and medications will never exist, but we’ve got to support those living with this disease now as well. 

You’ll be invited to embrace life with M.E. as I’ll be asking you to enjoy your own tea party in your own home or at your local café! Anywhere - Just not at my house! It’s a glimpse into the reduced size of life with M.E. and no dishes to clean for me and the caregiving clan (Side note - Thank you parents and Brian for keeping me going!)! 

When making your tea/ coffee/ glass of the black stuff (Diet Coke) with your cake, take a moment to consider the energy you need on the day. Consider your mental, physical and emotional energies. From first making plans, to getting supplies, deciding if it will be at home or out, how do you get to your cafe, how do you get to your kitchen table, to making your choice of beverage (no small decision!), to fill and boil the kettle, to go to and fro the cupboards for your accoutrements or standing to pay at the check out, to chat with your fellow tea party-ers or the dog (or cat, no judgement here!), to do the dishes or drive home from the cafe. This list isn’t exhaustive (pardon the pun) but it’s more than you’d think when you break it down, right? Imagine doing that calculation for every action you take and doing a cost/benefit analysis on whether or not it’s worth doing. That’s life with M.E. 

This awesome and clever fundraiser was started and is run by a person living with M.E. You can read her story at - https://the-slow-lane.com/blue-sunday-2022/ 

The only way we’ll ever make progress is if we demonstrate society’s desire to see change in this little-understood area of medicine and now is the time to act with the emergence of Long Covid! So become an ally - follow M.E. related channels on the socials, educate yourself, talk to your local politicians about M.E. when they come knocking on the door (please do this, there are no dedicated Consultants or Multi-Disciplinary Teams here in NI to support people desperately trying to recover from M.E. This must change.) and make a donation today, the cost of your usual Latte or Flat White would be super!

On 15th May, share your love on the socials using #BlueSunday2022 and #TeaPartyForME2022 to show all those people in bed or curled up on their sofa or propped up at their kitchen table that you’re with them in spirit, cake in hand!

And to show me your love, share your pics of cakes and treats, please! Thank you for celebrating with me ✌️ ♥️ 😊 

Follow along on the day using - Twitter @theslowlane_ME, Instagram @teapartyform.e and Facebook @theslowlaneME