SIR – Everyone likes to hear about someone doing well despite the handicap of chronic ill health, and Tom Hunt will receive sincere congratulations after being awarded his degree from everyone who has suffered from ME.
But I hope your readers will not assume from the headline, ‘Tom didn’t let illness stop him getting degree,’ Worcester News, November 19, that people with ME who have not achieved anything newsworthy have not battled and may, therefore, be thought to be lazy. In fact, battling against ME is often found to be the worst thing anyone can do, since it causes relapses and sometimes makes the illness worse.
Pacing is usually the better option, as Tom discovered, though it takes discipline and does not work for everyone.
Most ME sufferers live in hope of a cure but will not agree with Tom that: “It’s not all that bad because you can get out of it.” The sad truth is that the vast majority never recover, some get worse and some die.
Dr John H Greensmith
MEFreeForAll.org
Bristol
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