New therapy that's changed mum's life
10 July 2006
by Jane Picken, The Evening Chronicle
For many suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or ME, effective treatment has proved elusive. But a new therapy is starting to win North East patients over. Health reporter Jane Picken has the details. Mum Wendy Shalliker had almost given up hope after her life was torn apart by ME. She could no longer play with her children and some days rarely left her bed. However, after discovering therapy, her life is very different. Wendy, 52, now enjoys pastimes such as horse riding and swimming - activities she once thought she would never be able to do again. And now she has trained to become one of the first therapists in the North East, and her patient list of people struggling with ME is quickly growing.
"My GP admitted to me he had seen people end up in a wheelchair with the illness and I was struck dumb by what he said. There was no real treatment so I went home and struggled on." Wendy endured years of constant exhaustion. "Life was horrible," says Wendy. "I had to leave my job which I really loved. "I couldn't do anything for the children, even ordinary things like playing with them or going to the park. At one point all I could do was get down the stairs and sit with them in a chair.
I decided to try a new treatment which did not involve any medication. After the first few sessions I noticed a change and went on to recover.
Once well again, I decided to train to help other people and I have not looked back since. I now enjoy the things in life people take for granted like swimming and I have even started horse riding again.
"For me, ME was crippling, therapy has changed my life," says Wendy, who has a daughter Rachel, 23, and a son Michael, 17. Wendy's struggle with ME began around her 40th birthday as she recovered from a bout of viral pneumonia. Soon she was unable to even sit up in bed. "I would have my ups and downs with the illness, but life was very difficult with it," recalls Wendy. "At the time I had two young children but I seemed to spend most of my time resting "Eventually doctors were unhappy with my rate of recovery so I was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Newcastle, and then on to the Freeman. They did so many tests but they all showed nothing until finally one of the consultants said I had ME.
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