THANETME

ITS ALL ABOUT ME

Welcome to what I hope is going to be the first of a very important and inspiring Charity calendar in aid of sufferers of CFS/ME, Fibromyalgia and similar related illnesses, where the models are real people with a very real and debilitating condition and liberally supported by good friends who thought the whole concept of the calendar a worthy one to be involved with.

IT STARTED WITH ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis)

After suffering from a couple of Glandular Fever type viral infections back in the summer of 2005 I was finally diagnosed with CFS/ME in October 2005, but looking back it seems that the Chronic Fatigue had been hovering in the background these last four years.  As so many others have already voiced to me, I was so relieved to finally be diagnosed with the condition and to know there was something actually wrong with me and not just all in my mind.  The weeks that followed made me realise just how lonely, frightened and isolated I really was with no one else I could talk to who was going through the same experience that I was.  No one who could relate to my fears and feelings of despair and it steadily worsened for me.  Within a few months I was having to use a walking stick and I struggled to get about and do the simple things in life we all take for granted, such as washing my hair, cleaning my house and taking my son to the park.

IT HELPED WITH ME……

After being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia back in February 2006 and struggling with a young and energetic son, in a desperate plea for help I contacted Social Services who within a month had allocated me, a Care Manager and a care plan was put in place.  I now have home help to assist in all my domestic cleaning and A home hairdresser to manange my hair needs.  On top of the help offered by Social Services I have been lucky to have my family rally around me as often as possible, with my mother and sister taking my son to the park and the Beach and my grandmother who enjoys doing all my ironing...  How much my life has changed by such an act of kindness…..

THANETME

Being unable to work due to my illness I needed a worthy project to keep my mind stimulated and I also wanted to do something to bring awareness to the public about ME and similar disabilities, in a serious yet fun way and better still to be able to involve actual sufferers to also take part.  An idea was born…..

A calendar to raise money for fellow sufferers to help raise awareness and ongoing support, the idea of the Victorian theme was to be sensual and provocative to tantalise and captivate both the imaginations of men and women but to mainly show that the people taking part, the actual models were real people who had successful careers, busy family lives, hopes and dreams, that had all been lost when struck with this condition and I wanted to give them a sense of self worth, of belonging again to today’s society, a great idea and a way of bringing fellow sufferers together so we no longer felt alone or isolated or unworthy as humans.

I decided to call the organisation thanetme because it is where I now live and Thanet seemed such an isolated part of Kent where I felt I was the only sufferer here….how wrong I was!

ALL ABOUT ME NOW……

To Date the responses that I have received from one single article in my local paper has been astounding.  Message after message were sent by sufferers with the same illnesses, reaching out, wanting to be involved and part of something that means so much to them.  The friends that knew of me and my condition wanted to add their help and support as much as they could to raise funds towards the production of the calendar and I thank the people from around the world who have heard about my crusade and emailed me their support, their stories and the hope that this will succeed, I sincerely thank all of you.

And a special thanks to Focus To Work team who are helping to make this idea of mine a reality….