This is ME; this is me now.
ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is a multi-system disease that causes dysfunction of the neurological, immune, endocrine, and energy metabolism systems.
Me, I'm a lady that loves her family, friends, and has a wild sense of adventure.
Just as ME is just one part of me, extreme exhaustion is just one symptom of ME.
A thousand words is not enough to describes the myriad of symptoms of ME.
A million more would be needed to describe what a chronic illness does to your job, family, friendships, and life.
Yet there is so much more to me than even all that - I still Iive, love, dream, play, learn, fail, fall, succeed...
I’ve worked hard to be me, to get where I am in life; I am proud of me.
However, my priorities and realities are forever altered and changed by ME; perhaps a shake-up was needed though.
I wish I had the courage to do it before ME forced it upon me, but I am glad I now have the courage to do it for me.
I'm pursuing dreams, goals, and talents I never knew I had.
Though to be honest, I've also lost activities, hobbies, and friends I cherished dearly.
I want to hate ME for that and all it does to me daily, and I do, but it has also made me fearless, relentless, and stronger.
ME.... it's clearly a force to be reckoned with.
Ironically though you may never have seen ME, even though you see me often.
Its symptoms are in my face daily; yet I put on a “face” for you.
I hide ME because it’s me that is important for you to know, that is worth you knowing.
Perhaps I should let ME be on display each day: I see many advantages to letting people see ME.
Instead though I choose to hide ME and only show you me.
More needs to be done to get rid of ME before it gets the best of me.
I actively do what I can, I share ME me publicly in podcasts, videos, and articles to increase awareness, to let you read about me, to see me, and to hear from me.
But with friends and family, I try to keep ME all to myself; I am not ashamed of ME, it’s just that I really want you to know me.
One thing never changes: ME often steals the spotlight in my life; ME may even often have the control of it at times.
However, underneath all the layers of ME, I know that it's still me that matters the most;
I will continue to rise above ME; I refuse to let ME overtake me.
From me to you... and all of you with ME. We've got this... we really do, even when it seems like we don’t. We do.
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