Chronically.Corey

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May is myalgic encephalomyelitis awareness month!

This disease can be devastating and affects millions of people around the world. For months, I was confined to bed in a dark, silent room. Any amount of light would pierce my eyes and head with a staggering migraine. Any sound physically hurt to the point of tears. I couldn't sit up for more than thirty seconds or my heart rate would easily climb into the 180s. I lost the ability to bathe myself, to walk more than a few feet, to carry out any tasks of independent living, even the ability to cry as the exertion would cause a crash into worsening symptoms. My constant pain level was unbearable enough that nearly drove me to ending my life. This is the reality of living with severe ME, and it's nowhere near as severe as this illness gets.

Those who are at the most severe stages cannot speak, move, or open their eyes. They are often tube or TPN fed because the action of chewing is too much for their bodies to bear. This condition has taken so many lives, some of which I have known and watched die in slow motion. Onchologists have likened the quality of life of those with this disease to end stage terminal cancer.

The plank4ME challenge was created to raise awareness for this disorder. The idea is to hold a plank for as long as possible to feel a fraction of what it is like for someone with MECFS to lay flat in bed "resting". Research for this disease is drastically underfunded and so no strides in care have been made in many years. Even with millions of us missing from life and confined to dark beds, there is still no treatment, and no cure.

Please, consider donating to the Open Medicine Foundation at the link below to aid us in our search for the cure. Because no one deserves to live in a dark room.