I was you. You don’t want to be me.

I was absolutely no different from you.

I was fresh out of university, working at my summer job, applying for graduate schemes and full-time work. I was the girl who could roll up an large inflatable quad bike circuit on her own, in answer to the question “Why’d you bring a girl?!?” that my dad would get asked.

And then I got a virus and I never got better. It’s been 10 years. And the symptoms of that virus have never left me. From the start, I did everything right to recover. I rested. I gave in to it, rather than fighting it. But M.E. doesn’t care.

It’s luck and chance (and most likely something in our DNA – watch this space!)

They estimate that 10% of people with some viruses can develop M.E. This coronavirus seems to be one that can lead to this long-term, debilitating life of chronic illness.

You are not untouchable. Anyone could develop M.E.

You do not want this ‘Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome’ life. Once you have it there’s little you can do about it. To say I wouldn’t even wish it on Boris Johnson might just sum up how much of a disaster zone this illness is.

Please keep protecting yourselves just as you did at the start of the pandemic. Not just because of the threat that covid-19 poses, but because of the chance of developing M.E.

Keep social distancing even as the government tells you you can relax. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. And ultimately, don’t vote for a political party that will always care more about the economy than its people.

I absolutely do not wish for anyone to have to experience ‘lockdown’ any longer. Just please be careful and protect yourselves (because your government aren’t) as you start to taste freedom again. The thought of anyone getting Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome that leads to M.E. devastates me.

I was you. You really don’t want to be me.