Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a severely debilitating illness that robs you of most joyful things in life. Imagine losing the ability to walk outside and smell the fresh air, to not experience the freedom and joy of feeling the water run down your back while you stand in the shower, unable to engage and express yourself in family moments because you are in constant neurological and physical pain most hours of every day, leaving you bedridden and in some cases unable to communicate. It is estimated that there are at least 25,000 sufferers in New Zealand (2-4 per thousand) out of a population of 4.8M. To put that in perspective, the incidence is higher than Multiple Sclerosis, and considerably higher than a womans' lifetime risk of developing lung cancer (https://anzmes.org.nz/what-is-me/). The suffering is immense and what this illness in particular is predominantly known for, is the fear, the fear of not knowing when or even if you will ever get better. This aspect of the illness one can only imagine brings forward other mental health challenges such as Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Anxiety (the list goes on).

I write this with a heavy heart as this illness has set itself upon our family. Our very healthy Mother, who spent her life as a Nurse caring for others has been struck with this Post Viral illness after catching COIVD-19, some call this Long Covid or a Post Viral Illness, we call this "the Unknown Illness,' this is because there is no cure, there is little research available and no government funding in New Zealand at this point, nor is there a diagnosis for Long covid itself, leaving sufferers feeling lost in the medical world with no support, grasping on to hope, hoping that one day this illness will be properly recognised for what it is.

We see hope at the end of the dark tunnel for all ME/Long Covid sufferers, with the help of Dr Anna Brooks, who is an immunologist whose work is focused on unpacking the immune dysfunction experienced by those with Long Covid with the aim of understanding the relationship to Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) – the more common but still poorly understood post-viral condition. With generous crowd funding, this research can continue. I will not be doing anything in particular to encourage giving on this page but I hope that this story increases support and awareness of post viral illness and Long Covid. Any donation is not too little. The funds will go to the Auckland University Research Foundation, from there distributed with reference to this specific fundraiser page/ID directly to the research of Anna Brooks https://www.pvra.nz/

To all those suffering from this illness, life is worth continuing and there is hope even during the darkest of times, hold on to that tightly. This illness is gaining more attention and in turn, more overseas research is being conducted into this mystery illness. For those whom know someone who is suffering from this illness, talk about it, educate others and ask for help, because the journey isn't linear.

Dr Ann Brooks Media sharing:

RNZ - Similarities between long-haul Covid and ME Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018824790/similarities-between-long-haul-covid-and-me-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-new-research)

RNZ - Is Long Covid a new type of chronic fatigue syndrome? (https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/what-you-need-to-know/456714/is-long-covid-a-new-type-of-chronic-fatigue-syndrome)

NZ Herald - New variant threatens to leave more kiwis exposed to Long Covid

(https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-omicron-new-variant-threatens-to-leave-more-kiwis-exposed-to-long-covid/UKLY4RONUA4TFINOPK35HKWOH4/

Additional links: Information on Dr Anna Brooks:

https://www.pvra.nz/

https://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/people/profile/a-brooks

 Trial Participants (Long-Covid immunity and post-viral conditions): Volunteers

needed for Covid-19 research

 University of Auckland Long Covid Research Appeal Page: Long COVID research

appeal