International M.E. Awareness Day, is probably the high point of the M.E. calendar. This date was chosen because Florence Nightingale, the lady of the lamp, who was born that day might – just might – have had the illness herself. International ME Awareness Day 2009 is a worldwide collaboration of ME charities and organisations aiming to raise awareness of the neurological illness myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is defined by the World Health Organisation as a neurological illness (WHO-ICD-10-G93.3). With at least 250,000 sufferers of ME in the UK alone, many of them children, ME is estimated as costing the UK economy £3.5 billion per year. ME is five times more prevalent in the UK than HIV/AIDS. In Malta there are an estimated 800 sufferers of ME, including children, although many will be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. There are no official statistics.
At present there is no medical diagnostic test for ME and no known specific treatment or cure. The lack of support provided to sufferers by the medical profession is the cause of much frustration and emotional distress. It is not unusual for someone who is feeling extremely ill to be told “just forget about it and get on with your life” – as if the ill person had a choice. Unlike abroad, Maltese sufferers are denied the benefits and services offered to people with other disabilities, sometimes half as incapacitating as M.E, because M.E is not listed as one of the conditions covered by Social Security legislation.
The varying symptoms experienced by many severe ME sufferers may include: – visual problems, vocal/muscular limitations, general chronic weakness of limbs, cognitive problems such as memory loss & concentration difficulties, brain fog, problems with balance and fine motor control, muscle pain, malaise, hypersensitivity to light & noise, sleep & temperature disturbance,†cardiovascular symptoms,† digestive disturbances,†neurological disturbances. If you are an ME sufferer, or think you might have ME, get informed by logging on to: http://www.mesufferersmalta.org/ [1] or contact: info@mesufferersmalta.org [2]
If you would like additional information regarding myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) the following websites may be useful:
www.mesufferersmalta.org/homepage.aspx [3]
www.investinme.org/index.html [4]
www.nightingale.ca/ [5]
www.meassociation.org.uk/ [6]
www.mefreeforall.org/AWARENESS-WEEKS.555.0.html [7]