I fell ill with ME/CFS in 2006 and was chronically disabled with fatigue, pain and cognitive dysfunction. I lost my legal career, my business, my identity and my self worth to this disease. I was routinely told by health professionals that there was no cure and that I had to accept 'living' with long term disability. It was however a shadow life so I started searching for 'cures'.

My quest for recovery took me 6 years. It was a lonely and difficult journey but ultimately I discovered my path back to health in 2012. It was joyous to be able to do normal activities without crippling fatigue. I was able to participate in family and social activities. I started to exercise. I returned to work. I began living again.

I enjoyed 10 years in remission. Unfortunately following a viral Covid overload in early 2022 I relapsed and ME/CFS returned. Once again I found myself unsupported by health professionals who still had no knowledge about how to treat ME/CFS and little interest in the disease. In a repeat of 10 years earlier I was thrown back onto my own resources to recover.

It was hugely dispiriting to find that nothing had changed in the medical world in the the last 10 years for ME/CFS sufferers. Slow diagnosis. No treatments. No cures. No interest.

NICE estimates that ME/CFS effects at least 278,000 people in the UK today. This is more than the number of people with HIV or MS, yet doctors do not treat us (ME/CFS sufferers) and science does not study us. How could a disease this common and this devastating have been forgotten by medicine?

Only biomedical research can find the causes of ME/CFS, improve diagnosis and treatment, and, ultimately, arrive at a cure. Research is essential but requires funding. I was delighted, therefore, to find that ME Research UK have raised and invested over £4.5million and awarded 64 full grants and 5 PhD-level awards since 2000. It is essential that ME/CFS research continues and that it why I am fundraising.

I am walking 177 miles in 16 days along Offa's Dyke. I start at Sudbury Cliffs on the River Severn (just south of Chepstow) and travel northwards along the Welsh/English boarder lands finishing in Prestatyn North Wales. The terrain is remote and hilly especially on the Black Mountains and the Clywdian Hills. I start walking on 20th June and finish on 5th July. Its a tough challenge but with your support I know that I can do it.

I have recovered from ME/CFS and able to do this long distance walking challenge. I am lucky but thousands aren't. Too many men and women of all ages are living in the shadows due to this disease. Over a quarter of ME/CFS sufferers are bedbound. They would love to be able to walk a few steps without crippling fatigue. For every £1 you donate its another step nearer to helping these ME/CFS sufferers return to normal living.

Thank you