My name is Sharon Turnbull and I am the founder of More Than Fibro -SCIO, a charitable organisation supporting people living with Fibromyalgia, some people though I was insane to launch mid pandemic but I knew from personal experience that people needed my support more than ever. I hope my sharing my story will help you understand why:

I have lived with chronic illness for almost 20 years, people think you get used to being ill, you don't, you accept illness is part of your life but you never accept the restrictions it places on your life, you feel guilty for the times you are too tired to play with the kids, the times you are so down you cancel seeing people because you don't want to bring them down, the friends you lost because they don't understand why you've changed, the job you had to give up and the skills you can no longer offer society.

In November 2019 my chronic illness made me not want to live anymore, I couldn't face a life of constant pain and feeling like a disappointment with nothing to offer the world, fortunately, I'm still here but I've battled hard to hold on.

In July 2020 I couldn't walk to my car, I couldn't go upstairs without such extreme pain and breathlessness that I truly believed might be my last breath. I had to change my life, I had to beat the demon I had been scared of, loss of mobility. So, I got a referral and had disabled aids fitted in my home, I admitted defeat and accepted that a walking stick was going to be the only way I could get around, I started walking round the block with the dog, I gave up alcohol as it was affecting my mental health and I joined slimming world, I'm now 2 stone lighter and counting.

In October 2020 I felt ready, so, mid pandemic, I launched a voluntary organisation to support people like me living with Fibromyalgia and not knowing where to turn for support, today I have over 2500 members of my online groups, I have a team of volunteers who work tirelessly, I run walking groups, support meetings and an advocacy service helping members access benefits they are entitled to.

Every penny I raise will be put towards increasing the support I can offer, launching support groups, taking on more advocacy cases and showing real people with Fibromyalgia what real people with Fibromyalgia can achieve, after all, we are so much More Than Fibro!

I hope you can see by this how passionate I am about my organisation and how I have built such an invaluable service.

Thankyou Fibromyalgia, you stole my life, you took me to despair, but you gave me my life back, a life I now spend helping and supporting others and I love every minute of it.