“I was diagnosed with M.E when I was 13 years old. I had symptoms for a few years before this, but it took me those few years to be diagnosed because there is no criteria to be diagnosed with M.E. During this time, I felt like I wasn’t living, I was just existing. I was in my bedroom sensitive to light, noise and smells so I was unable to be around anyone else, unable to watch TV, unable to use a mobile phone, pretty much unable to do anything. I lost a lot of weight because I couldn’t eat because I always felt sick. I slept nearly 20 hours everyday. I had to leave school as my school didn’t believe I was ill and began court proceedings with my parents for my attendance. Luckily, the judge saw my medical records and instantly proved that I was ill and it was not mine nor my parents fault that my attendance was poor. This stress only made my illness worse so I left school. Thankfully, the removal of this stress helped me to improve enough to be able to do my GCSE’s at home. My parents had to fund these online courses, each costing £295. The LA refused to help fund any of my education from home. I was very grateful to manage to get 6 GCSE’s, 4 of these being grades A*-C. I have also managed to go to sixth form and do my A levels. I am on a part-time timetable and I have taken my A levels over a 3 year period. That’s my story.
However, it’s important to note that I am only a moderate sufferer of M.E. There are people who suffer severely from M.E who are permanently bed bound. Recently, I had a 2 week period of being mostly bed bound and I couldn’t leave the house. This gave me a taste of what it really is like to have severe M.E. It made me realise just how cruel and heartless this illness is. It has no mercy. This is why I wanted to share my story and try and raise money for Invest in M.E who are currently carrying out research into the causes and possible treatment options for those M.E sufferers.
Any donations, even £1 would mean the world to us.” Rebecca Ayling
Visit Rebecca’s justgiving page www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Rebecca-Ayling2
