Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.  You've just made the first step towards the fulfilling and life affirming experience of donating towards a worthwhile cause.  It just so happens I have one for you and donating couldn't be easier!

The Association of Young People with M.E provides support, friendship, advice and information to children and young people with the debilitating illness M.E.  I myself had M.E for over seven years. 

For some M.E. might mean feeling a little tired during the day for a couple of years, for others it can mean being bed ridden for years, sensitivity to light, chronic depression, memory loss, an inability to concentrate, dreadful fatigue and an inability to sleep, in short an inability to enjoy any aspect of life. 

M.E. has had a long history of speculation over its existence and while it is becoming increasingly accepted, very little is known about its causes and potential treatments.  It's bad enough to suffer from an illness without knowing what you have or how to get better.  It is not an uncommon that a patent is told they are perfectly fine, that it is psychological, blah blah blah. It took me 3 years to get an initial diagnosis, and for that I even had to go privately. 

Thankfully the level of understanding and more importantly the level of support is growing.  A.Y.M.E. are unique in specialising with young people.  They provide a free magazine to members and help create friendships between those who may be unable to even leave their own home.  It's hard as friends often (and quite understandably) distance themselves as they are unable to understand why you are the way you are.  This only makes things worse.  A.Y.M.E creates social links between sufferers that I found, is vital to one's recovery.

For more information on the Charity and the Illness, please visit the A.Y.M.E website through the link below.

http://www.ayme.org.uk

M.E hit me like a ton of bricks.  I was unable to attend school for 3 years and then after that only sporadically for a further 2.  I took only 5 GCSEs.  Lost any social life I had, suffered from terrible depression that took me to the brink.  It is during these, the so called "best days of your life" that one can loose hope so fast.  A feeling that you will never catch up in school and that you will be at a constant disadvantage out of it.  Unable to meet people, form new friendships.  For all the many treatments I tried, time was the only one that worked for me.  I changed school, succeeded beyond my wildest hopes academically, getting straight A’s, becoming a scholar and enjoying the best two years of my life with friends I hope now never to loose touch with.  I'm now enjoying working as a musican, principally a drummer:http://www.myspace.com/samekitdifferentdayuk  Drumming really helped carry me through my time with M.E

Running this Half Marathon is my way of saying goodbye to that part of my life.  Mentally I beat my M.E, now comes the physical side.  It will in effect be the first sport event I have been in since I was 11 years old (I was good at the tug of war at sports day).  So please support me in my bid to say farewell forever to my M.E. whilst helping those who suffer with it today.  I would like to thank all those who helped me through those 7 years, and just to say, I made it guys!

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Association of Young People with ME gets your money faster and, if you’re a taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!