18 months ago I went from being a healthy, ambitious 23 year old to someone who needed a wheelchair to get out. I was finally diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). I was left feeling helpless and hopeless.

Thanks to the love and support of my family, friends and the Oxford CFS Service, I’ve taken some control and I’m turning it around. On Saturday the 12th November I am going to climb Everest; my Everest. I am going to run 5k.

At my worst I was sleeping 18 hours a day, walking up the stairs felt like hiking up a mountain and I needed a wheelchair for days out. I was trapped inside a body and brain that had completely shut down. It’s hard to describe how overwhelming the feeling of fatigue was. The simplest over increase in activity, such as coffee with a friend, could take days to recover from.

In September 2015, I was officially diagnosed with CFS and was referred to the Oxford CFS Service. In my first appointment my physio told me exactly what I needed to hear, ‘You will get better’.

My first goal was to be able to walk for half an hour by gradually increasing my exercise, and 11 months after first falling ill, I achieved it!

In February I decided that my next goal was to run 5k. With very small steps and a lot of patience I can now run and I’m on track to be able to run 5k in November.

While I still have a long way to go, I have come so far and want to celebrate that. At the same time, I would like to raise some money to give back to the Oxford CFS Service, who are currently looking to raise money to make a film about their service so that they can give other people some hope and support.

All too often people with CFS are portrayed as having little hope of recovery and unable to influence the course of their disease. This was devastating to read, but fortunately this has not been my experience. So please share my story in the hope that it will encourage someone else who is faced with the uncertainty of a diagnosis of CFS.