#dizzyclap4me

I’m Bella, I invented the 'Dizzy Clap 4 ME’ challenge to help people who have been in lockdown for years with chronic illnesses like M.E.  

They have been living indoors, longing to work, exercise or socialise, missing their ‘old lives’ and freedom for decades. Please do this challenge for them & don't forget them when our lockdown is lifted.

SHARE, DONATE & POST your dizzy clap videos with the hashtag #dizzyclap4me @dizzyclap4me on twitter, insta or FB. 

Severe M.E sufferers are completely bed bound, tube fed, unable to eat, unable to lift their own head, unable to walk, unable to talk, hyper sensitive to light/sound/smell, in constant pain and can die from M.E. It can strike at any age, usually in the prime of life to the healthiest/happiest of people. Merryn Crofts died from ME aged 21 she was from Manchester and died after battling it since she was 15yrs old. 

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is hard to say but much harder to live with.  It’s not just being a bit tired! You can rest and recover from tiredness, this is crippling fatigue that you can’t recover from no matter how much you rest. The most tired a heathy person feels on a bad day is still 100 x times better than someone with ME feels on a good day.  Fatigue is just one of the symptoms. It effects your brain, muscles, spine, nervous system, digestive system, circulatory system and more...

My Mum is in constant pain in every part of her body apart from her ear lobes. She has M.E,  Fibromyalgia & other conditions I can’t spell! Mum doesn’t complain, she smiles and tries to hide her pain from us but I know it’s always there. Mum’s really brave. She used to love playing sport like me, now the smallest amount of activity leaves her in agony, completely wiped out for days after. Her body doesn't make energy properly. So even if she can save up the energy to do something she pays for it hours, days or weeks after (PEM: Post Exertional Malaise).  She hates having to sleep as much as she does and missing out on spending time with us but her body needs it. It also affects her brain and memory, I call her 'Dory' (the blue forgetful fish from finding Nemo)!

Mum can’t walk to the toilet most of time so I push her in her wheelchair around the house as she doesn’t have strength in her arms to push herself. 

Viruses make all of Mummy’s symptoms worse, often she doesn't recover at all. My Mum first got ill after a virus when she was 15, she had to take a whole year off school! She had to give up a job that she loved, after her pain and extreme fatigue returned (after a virus again) when she was 28. She had carers and a wheelchair for 5yrs until she got pregnant with me, I helped turn her pain off like magic! Mum was still very ill but I was able to get out of her wheelchair! We used to say that I made Mummy better. 

When I was 5 she relapsed, (after another virus) and has been back in her wheelchair ever since so viruses are very dangerous for people like my Mum. We’re all scared of coronavirus making my Mummy even worse so we've not left the house at all since before lockdown. I don’t mind as long as it keeps her safe, I don’t want her to die. 

We normally have carers in the day to help Mummy & us but it’s too risky for them to come in now. Daddy has to do even more to help us all while trying to work from home too. Mummy is having to push herself even more than she usually does and I can see it’s making her worse.

I hate seeing her in pain, she’s been living downstairs for 2yrs, she can’t get upstairs to put me & my Sister to bed anymore. My little Sister can only remember Mummy poorly, she’s only 5 but she helps care for Mum too. 

I’d love to raise money to pay for a lift inside our house but I think it’s more important to help find a cure for the #millionsmissing so I invented the dizzy clap challenge!

We have been clapping the NHS each week but I also wanted to dizzy clap those with chronic illness living in permanent lockdown. People with M.E aren't able to stand and do this challenge without it causing huge PEM but they do have to push themselves to do things that make them ‘drop’ everyday. So let's do this challenge for them & not forget all the chronically ill when our lockdown is lifted. 

Please whatever you can to Invest in ME's biomedical research. 

SHARE, DONATE & POST your dizzy clap videos with the hashtag #dizzyclap4me @dizzyclap4me

Thanks for helping my Mummy and millions like her. x