It’s true, I am just one person. An exceptionally small person at that. And chronically ill beside. But that is exactly why I need to try and change the world, make it a better place and bring hope to those who desperately need it.
I need to do this because I need the change myself. I have myalgic encephalomyelitis, known in the US mainly as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, along with thousands and thousands of other people. Because of it, I have not had a pain-free day in years, there is only one three-day period in the last decade when I can remember not feeling oppressively exhausted, I am physically incapable of working fulltime, I have mounds of debt I cannot work enough to pay off, I get sick easily and take much longer to heal from everything than a “normal” person, and I have to constantly be aware of how I am rationing out my meager energy supply.
I have a very mild case.
There are countless people all over the world who are completely bedridden, unable to dress or feed themselves because of this disease. People whose lives are completely shattered and left in ruin. And yet the social stigma that surrounds this disease blames the sick themselves, leaving the desperately ill so isolated and unable to do anything to change their situation that a heart-breakingly high percentage of them them turn to suicide to end the torment.
Enough.
I am launching a campaign to help raise awareness about ME/CFS. For the rest of summer, I am donating 50% of the profits from all print sales and enrollments into my online, self-discovery-through-photography course Introspective, to the CFIDS, a group actively working on researching the disease.
I am only one girl, but that is how change comes about; one person at a time. You are only one person, but you can help. You can help by spreading the word; Tweeting, blogging, and talking about my campaign on Facebook. You can purchase a print or enroll in Introspective, and keep either one, or give it as a gift. And of course you can also donate directly to the CFIDS.
This is a change whose time has come. We need to not only find out what actually causes ME/CFS, but how to cure it. We need to stop treating its victims like have brought it upon themselves, or are simply not trying hard enough. We need to understand that this is a real, physical and debilitating disease.
We can make these things happen.
You can go here to read more about my campaign.
Thank you so much to everyone who is aiding me in this.
The Fog Rolls In – my most recent self portrait to show how having “brain fog,” a common symptom of ME/CFS, feels to me.
Mythic Pictures 