Voices from the shadows

Sorry for not posting yesterday but I wanted to use my energy elsewhere. My copy of "Voices from the shadows" arrived on Monday and I had been waiting until Thursday evening to watch it. The reason is simple really, Niamh would be in bed and Chris would be at work and I would be able to get as emotional as I wanted in peace and quiet.

I thought it was brilliant. Very informative, very emotive and very true. It highlights the condition, how many systems within the body it affects and shows exactly how serious it can become and that it can kill (a little known fact outside the M.E community). It also highlights the neglect that many M.E patients suffer (mainly at the hands of professionals) and it is so true. I think everyone who has M.E has experienced this at some point. I personally have, I wasn't diagnosed for two years due to my registered GP not believe in it's exsistance. In that time I went from mildly affected to severely affected. Working and having a social life to bed bound in a blacked out room for 18 months.

I did find it very hard to watch at points and it did bring back some difficult memories from my time as a severely affected sufferer. I was never medicated intravenously (well not solely due to M.E) or tube fed and thankfully my husband and my father kept me out of hospital. So I can't imagine the extra stress and strain that being hospitalised would cause.

I think it is a must. I think everyone who knows someone with M.E needs to watch it, to be honest I think everyone should watch it. It also explains the issues with the classification and how M.E is NOT CFS and why the some members of the medical community insist on treating it as a pysocological disease. It shows the dangers of graded exercise therapy and goes into the issues with the NICE guidelines. I will be buying one for my MP and possibly that idiotic GP that let me get so ill.

At the end of the day if you have M.E, know someone with M.E or have heard of the disease or DVD and you have been uncertain whether or not you should buy a copy you defiantly SHOULD.It's only £6-7. Even if you personally never watch it, lend it to your family and friends, send it to your MP and your GP help to raise awareness of a well known but little understood disease. Help show the world how we suffer. How there is no known cause or treatment and often those treatments suggested by professionals do more harm than good. Help to show the world how seriously ill people are being neglected everyday and their families are forced into caring for them without any outside help or support. Help to show the world that it is NOT "in our heads" and no amount of counselling or CBT will fix us. Help people who can to help us. Please.

Anyway here are mine and Niamh's 366 pictures from today:

And Niamh, on a rocking toy thingy at toddler group, she also got in a toy box there too, and taught another baby how to do it (oops!).

As promised here are a couple of bits to do with "Voices from the shadows" I really do think it is so, so important. This is the trailer:

and you can be referred directly to the webshop from which you can buy the DVD by clicking here. Thank you for reading and thank you for considering buying this DVD.

Bye for now folks!