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Me and my family are together trying to walk 2,500,000 steps in 100 days (we’ve managed to hit the target of 1 million steps already so we are upping it!) as part of the Walk with M.E 2018 campaign. 

We are doing this walk to raise money for the charity Action for ME who “takes action to end the ignorance, injustice and neglect faced by people with M.E.” Action for ME provides information, support and advice as well as funding biomedical research.

During the summer of 2014 (aged 9), I had a virus that knocked me out for the whole summer holiday. I felt really nauseous, headachy, tired and washed out.

I went back to school and all my sports after the summer holiday but had constant relapses throughout the whole year. The doctors said it was post-viral and would clear up. I’d be off school for a week or two every few weeks and would drop all my sports then pick them back up. 

In the next summer holiday and half term I was really ill. I was prescribed anti-nausea medication to help relieve the terrible nausea. I had really bad sleeping problems and was off school full time. I had no energy to get off the sofa, wash, get dressed or even brush my hair. I had problems sleeping and was very sensitive to noise. I couldn’t see any friends and even my younger brother couldn’t have friends around. We were finally referred to a paediatrician and even after many blood test we still didn’t have a diagnosis and we were told it was a “chronic fatigue like illness.’

I gradually started going back to school about an hour a day at first. When I got home I couldn’t do anything else and had no energy at the weekends. Slowly over the next year I built up my school time to about 50% attendance. 

I then moved up to secondary school where I attended school 50% of the time. We heard on the radio about a CFS/ME study at the Royal United Hospital of Bath. After battling to get a referral we were finally referred to Bath. We travelled up to bath and met the consultant who immediately diagnosed me with classic CFS/ME. Now with support from Bath I’m able to attend school on about 70% attendance. I’ve just started slowly getting back to doing some dancing and can see friends and do a lot more at the weekends. 

Thanks to the help of my family, friends, the hospital of bath and most importantly my cats, Polka and Biskit, who have kept me company throughout I’m now improving slowly and feeling a lot better. 

I’m hoping by taking part in this walk we will help raise awareness about this illness and raise some money to help people feel less isolated. 

Thank you- Tiggy x

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is a long term illness with a wide range of symptoms. The most common symptom is extreme tiredness. CFS/ME can affect anyone, including children. There are many symptoms of CFS/ME, some are: Feeling tired and unwell, sleep problems, muscle and joint pain, headaches, sore throats, feeling nauseous and dizzy etc...

CFS/ME is very difficult to diagnose because there is no specific test for it, doctors diagnose it by listening to the symptoms and doing tests to rule out what it could be. 

No-one knows what caused CFS/ME however there are many theories. For example, it may be triggered by a bacterial or viral infection, problems with the immune system, genes or mental health. There is also no known cure for CFS/ME but some treatments include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or Graded Excercise Therapy.

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