I read a lot of blogs.

That might even be an understatement... And within those many, many blogs, are a good amount of Christian relationship blogs. Man, that sounds tedious. But I've got into them because of the people writing them, and the honesty with which they write.

Lots of these blogs hit notes with me, whether it's the balance of housework within a marriage, or being stuck in an "inbetween" (inbetween studying and working, renting and buying, being a couple and being parents etc). I so often go to start writing a comment, but in the midst of the comment I end up saying, "it's different for us though, we've both got chronic illnesses, so we have to work it this way, and it's like this because of it...", and so on and so forth... And then I hold down Cmd+A, and press delete. Because noone who reads that will understand. And I don't have the energy to explain.

You might be stuck in an inbetween, but at least you can actively do stuff! We're stuck in an inbetween where just making a meal is enough to confine us to bed spasming in pain. You might argue over who has to do the housework, we have to call our parents (who are pensioners!) in to do the most basic of chores because we just can't. We have to rescue the other person as their legs give way, literally pick them up off the floor and laugh through it all because it's the 5th time it's happened since we woke up a few hours ago.

Our life is unimaginable to you. But don't block it out of your head, because ME can strike anyone at anytime.



Just over 2 weeks to my DLA tribunal. Applied for taxi fares, here's hoping they'll pay...

Genetics and ME.

Ask around the ME community and sooner or later you will reach the argument over the genetics with ME; both with the susceptibility to it, and the risk of passing it on to your children.

I view ME as an umbrella term. The variety of symptoms, experiences and triggers do not point to one distinct illness, but a multitude of undiagnosed problems with the primary symptoms of fatigue and pain.

However, I believe that there is a genetic disposition to developing ME. Why?

I have three siblings. Two of them developed ME in 1989, one recovered in the last 5 years, and the other is nearly recovered. (Although, interestingly, all three of us have had slightly different symptoms.)

Two of my cousins, on either side of the family, have been query ME, as have Uncles and Aunts.

I realise that's just one family, so let me throw in another example.

My sibling who has recovered from ME is married to someone who developed ME at a similar time to him. She is also nearly recovered now. At least 2 of her immediate family members have ME.


On the other hand, my husband is the only one affected in his family. It's not purely genetic...


I view the genetic side of things more as a disposition towards developing ME, rather than anything else. Of course I worry our children will develop ME, but they'll just have to be a bit more careful than other children would. That doesn't mean wrapping them in cotton wool, but it means letting them recover from every infection fully, and it means monitoring the effect of vaccinations on them from the beginning. I believe ME often starts when the immune system becomes overloaded - that can't be avoided initially, but it can be helped.