Completing a marathon on a treadmill would be an amazing achievement for most people, but when I took on the challenge, I defied all the odds. Taking careful steps on an anti-gravity treadmill in March 2022, it was hard to believe that a few short years earlier I couldn't walk, feed myself or even sit up in bed.
Things hadn't always been that way. At 15 years old in 1998, I went home from school one day with a sore throat and banging headache. Completely exhausted and in constant pain, I holed up in bed.
But with every day that passed, I seemed to be getting worse.
From weighing 14st, I rapidly began to lose weight. Rather than investigating the cause, doctors congratulated me. But my mum Ivy, then 45, a nurse, knew something was seriously wrong.
Weeks blurred into months. I stopped going to school and eventually became so weak that my dad Fred, then 46, had to carry me up the stairs. Countless trips to the doctors followed, but they were all stumped.
Fraught with worry, my parents had me hospitalized, where I stayed for the next 10 and a half months.
I was eventually diagnosed with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis, known as ME or chronic fatigue syndrome.
Caring roles
With no assurance of recovery, my parents decided to take me back home. My mum retired to become my full-time carer, and my dad and brother David, then 12, took on caring roles too, along with regular visits from a team of local women, trained by my mum as carers. While I was still in hospital, Dad, a builder, adapted our small home with a downstairs extension to fit my hospital bed and specialized equipment.
Denne historien er fra September 19, 2022-utgaven av WOMAN - UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 19, 2022-utgaven av WOMAN - UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
EAT WELL (even on a budget) - Easy meals that make the most of your store cupboard, and won't break the bank
Courgette and pesto pasta
The CATCH
The house was perfect - so why was it so cheap?
Elizabeth and THE RAIN
She had made Lisa's life a misery- and now she was back
I won't stop taking my daughter out of school... - TO GO TO THE BEACH!
One mum tells us why fun, spontaneous days are sometimes more important than being in the classroom
Where's the JUSTICE?
Catherine Wardle's son died over a senseless Snapchat spat
Fat-shamed BY MY MUM
Gemma Hall, 28, showed off her snaps and got a dose of tough love
Fighting for SURVIVAL
When Danielle Camilleri collapsed at 40, the diagnosis was devastating
Finding love AFTER LOSS
As Kelsey Parker moves on after losing her husband Tom, we investigate how difficult it is to find love again in widowhood
Phil's revenge
Phillip Schofield is back on our screens after a 16-month hiatus and it seems it's all-out war between the former presenter and ITV.
'I'm too scared TO HAVE SURGERY'
Christine Lampard on gratitude, staying in shape and date nights with husband Frank.