I'm the 'Rose' of this blog's title. I have been working hard for two years to recover from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS; also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or M.E.)
I decided to start writing this blog to help me record my recovery journey - as an online diary really. I don't know if anyone but me will ever read it, but if you do and you have any constructive suggestions of things I could do to improve my health or my blog, I'm all ears.
I'm in my early thirties and was working full-time in my dream job, zipping round the country at weekends visiting friends, walking in the country, sipping delicious cocktails... you get the idea. Then I got ill. But I am determined I will get better.
I am really determined that this blog should be a positive account of my journey (though anyone familiar with these illnesses will know they are challenging beyond belief) so I don't want to dwell on the details and lows of the past couple of years, but in a nutshell and despite my best efforts, I'm mostly housebound currently.
I've made good progress a number of times (using a variety of approaches - that's another post to come!), including returning to work and being able to walk as far as three miles in a day at times; but I've also experienced several major relapses which have left me unable to get out of bed much for months.
I try to learn from my experiences each time, to build a more sustainable recovery in the future. That's part of why I decided to make the blog too - so I can put all my learning out there to reflect on and hopefully grow through. Even if it feels like trying to get through concrete sometimes - if the flowers can do it, so can I!!