katharineandme.blogspot.com
Katharine and M.E.: February 2014
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Saturday, 22 February 2014. A while ago I came across Voices from the Shadows. A film “born of desperation” made by the mother and brother of a severe ME sufferer. It tells the true stories of several ME patients and the injustices and abuse they and their families have been subjected to. An introduction. Today, in the twenty-first century. From the Sam and M.E. blog. So, while I may not be big enough, powerful enough (or, indeed, healthy enough) to change the world and its opinion of my illness, I can.
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Katharine and M.E.: On a life-long love of reading
http://katharineandme.blogspot.com/2015/03/on-life-long-love-of-reading.html
Thursday, 5 March 2015. On a life-long love of reading. We all spend our lives telling them - about this, about that, about people. Some stories are so good we wish they'd never end. They're so gripping that we'll go without sleep just to see a little bit more. Some stories bring us laughter and sometimes they bring us tears. But isn't that what a great story does? It makes you feel. Stories that are so powerful, they really are with us forever. To being unable to pick up a book, let alone read it. M...
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Katharine and M.E.: July 2014
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Wednesday, 23 July 2014. Today I'm joining in with the lovely Tammy-Louise Wilkins. For her I'm Not Perfect. This is a topic I feel strongly about: last year I witnessed some quite traumatic consequences of perfectionism (which culminated in sirens and police cars), and as a chronic illness patient I know how important it is to avoid undue pressure and stress. Perfection is - perhaps by definition - impossible and unattainable - and as Regina Spektor sings. Or 10 more seconds of the plank. When I became ...
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Katharine and M.E.: February 2015
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Friday, 20 February 2015. Mum, Helen and Heather walk 26.5 miles for ME Research UK! It's less than 6 months since my birthday fundraiser and I have more. Very exciting fundraising news! This time, though, I'm not doing anything myself because. My Mum, her best friend Helen, and my best friend Heather (who is also Helen's daughter) are walking 26 and a half miles in one day - all in the aid of ME Research UK. As part of the Bath Beat. And getting electrocuted by electric fences amongst other obstacles!
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Katharine and M.E.: August 2015
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Thursday, 13 August 2015. Things have been quiet around here for quite a while. Thankfully, this isn't due to a deterioration in my health; I've just been working on other projects (such as writing an article for ME Awareness Week for my university's student newspaper. And writing a chapter for an anthology on the unique lived experience of childhood ME). This post has been languishing in my 'drafts' folder for over a year. I feel now is the perfect time to rediscover it. Thing in the world. In the words...
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Katharine and M.E.: March 2015
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Thursday, 19 March 2015. I'm worth more than £50. This morning there was a discussion on The Wright Stuff, on Channel 5, entitled "Is the NHS failing M.E. sufferers? It featured the CEO of Action for M.E., Sonya Chowdhury, and Graeme Bloom, who has M.E. While I expected to be left feeling very angry and upset (as I usually am whenever M.E. is mis. Aside from a rather unfortunate remark from Nadine Dorries that "97% of young people with ME/cfs recover" ( if only this were true! How is this right? Firstly,...
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Katharine and M.E.: September 2014
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Friday, 12 September 2014. 21st birthday preparations in figures. 2 days to go (and counting! Until my fundraising tea party to celebrate my 21st birthday. 163;693 raised already for ME Research UK through 24 donations so far on my JustGiving page. Made over goodness-knows-how-many hours of preparation, script-drafting, home-video-hunting, brother-bribing, energy-draining, hugely embarrassing and very, very stressful work! I think it was worth it, though. Countless cakes to be baked, iced and decorated.
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Katharine and M.E.: December 2014
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Monday, 29 December 2014. What 2014 taught me. Frosty mornings follow wintry nights; sunsets greet us eagerly in the mid-afternoon chill. The year hurtles unwaveringly towards its dignified end, taking its final, icy breaths as we wait patiently, hoping to discover better things on the next page. The year has passed by in a flash of light and dark, highs and lows, hopes and fears; it seems like an eternity has flown by since I said hello to 2014. Uncertainty is the refuge of hope". Never be afraid to rai...
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Katharine and M.E.: March 2014
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Monday, 24 March 2014. Last Friday marked quite an achievement. I’ve not graduated or even finished second year (yet), but I have. Made it through an entire term without being sent home or having an ambulance called on me! I also managed to hand in an assessed (summative) essay on time for the first time since coming to university in 2012. It was even handed in online 2 days before the deadline! Tuesday, 11 March 2014. The "Sofa of Doom". Last weekend I went home to have an MRI scan of my brain done at t...
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Katharine and M.E.: Part-time study, one year on
http://katharineandme.blogspot.com/2015/02/part-time-study-one-year-on.html
Thursday, 12 February 2015. Part-time study, one year on. It has been a little over a year since I transferred to part-time study at university – and what a year it’s been! My health had forced me to a point where the decision was effectively taken out of my hands; things were looking bleak and really quite scary, and going part-time was a last-ditch attempt to keep my place on my degree course and retain some independence. I can honestly say that is has been the best decision I have ever. I’m no l...
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