All
around the world, even now as we speak children are taken from
mothers and the gravely ill are sectioned in psychiatric wards.
ME/CFS has a torrid history and the medical profession is left
useless in its wake, relying then on the tried and true strategy of
blaming this enigmatic illness on the patient.
We
who suffer with this illness, become cynical and hardened by the
constant fight. By the need every day to gather the willpower to
choose to keep fighting this unwinnable battle, while on the
sidelines the medical profession yells taunts and derision at us.
Their inability to puzzle out our illness, makes them condescending
and dismissive. They are stymied by
ME/CFS and rather than treating
it as a common enemy, they turn on us.
Right
now in Spain a very sick child has been taken from her very ill
mother. Even though leading Spanish ME specialists have declared
that the child has acute ME and should not attend school on days
she is too weak. Even though a judge declared that challenges made
by the government to remove guardianship from the mother (also sick
with ME) was not in the child's best interests. Even then, the
Spanish government has taken this child and put her in a psychiatric
ward and refused the innocent mother access to her sick child.
In
England a man visiting from Canada who was also very ill with ME has
been sectioned in a UK hospital. And this is not just a foreign
problem. It happens to Australians too. It has happened to two
people I know. Likely more, because it is a shameful thing that
people do not want to share.
There is an estimated two hundred thousand people in Australia with ME/CFS. Of those a likely forty thousand are house or bed bound, silently screaming for help
There is an estimated two hundred thousand people in Australia with ME/CFS. Of those a likely forty thousand are house or bed bound, silently screaming for help
The
film Voices
from the Shadows
is a documentary film created by family members of a severely ill ME
patient. It speaks for those of us who are unheard. It
is important viewing for everybody, but crucial viewing for anybody
who loves someone with ME/CFS.
Voices from the Shadows Trailer from Josh on Vimeo.
A
reviewer from the Chicago Sun Times has written a review almost as
moving as the trailer. Scott Jordan Harris ironically is also a
soldier in our war. He too has ME. It is worth a read A
howl of desperation for those who cannot howl
Beautiful, as always. Thank you for continuing to raise awareness about our plight. XOXO
ReplyDeletei know this goes on and still i find it so hard to digest. it is despicable. thank you marzi for another moving post. much love. xxoo
ReplyDeleteThis psychiatric 'treatment' of people with M.E. is horrifying, my heart goes out to those have had this dangerous and sometimes deadly 'treatment' and to their families who have had to watch helplessly.
ReplyDeleteShocking.
xx great post btw
Unbelievable (yet not) about the little girl in Spain, just so wrong, how can this still be happening? I too know of someone of influence with the illness who was sectioned and treated terribly, I mean are they ever treated well and with respect when they're sectioned with this illness - no - because, their illness and its' very existence is being denied by the very act of them being sectioned. We still have along way to go, and only by continuing to promote awareness and not being silent, and hoping that science and the medical field catches up over time will we get there. May those responsible for harming M.E patients (as not all do) in the psychiatric field hang their heads in shame one day and feel the full brunt of the damage they have done to individuals, families and the M.E community, and the wedge they have put in blocking proper research and funding also. Thanks Marzi, great post. xxoo
ReplyDelete