Hi there. I'm Andy, and I'm raising funds for Action for M.E., because I feel that supporting them is the best way to support progress for all those with ME/CFS.

Who am I?

For those who don't know me, I'm an ME/CFS patient of over 40 years. Although it was challenging for me, I was mildly enough affected to be able to get through school and college, and then work full-time. However, gradually over time the challenge became more and more overwhelming, and so I went first from full-time work to part-time, and then finally gave up work in my 40s.

I then became involved in the online patient community. In 2017, I was part of a small group of patients and carers who founded Science for ME, an on-line discussion forum. I served as a committee member for the forum from 2017 to 2025.

My connection with the forum then opened up opportunities to become involved in Patient and Public involvement (PPI) roles in research. I have previously worked directly with Dr Karl Morten and the UK ME/CFS Biobank team and my current PPI roles of note are: Management team and PPI Steering Group for DecodeME and SequenceME & Long Covid; UK Genetic Centre of Excellence board; and Delivery Group for PRIME.

Why Action for M.E.?

The consistent thread through all of these current opportunities has been Action for M.E., which is why I have chosen to try to raise funds for them. Without them, major projects such as DecodeME and SequenceME and Long Covid would not exist. So I'm hoping that if you appreciate any of my efforts in advocacy, or just want to support Action for M.E., you'll consider donating.

[Picture is of myself, Sonya Chowdhury, CEO of AfME, and Prof Chris Ponting, Uni of Edinburgh, at a SequenceME&LC meeting this year.]

Please note that donations here will go to the general Action for M.E. fund, as I feel it is important to support the whole of the charity. However, you could also donate to either AfME's SequenceME&LC specific fund, or to support directly the ME/CFS work of the team at the University of Edinburgh.