In February 2006 I skidded out of control in my car and crashed violently into a set of railings. My car was written off, but I exited unscathed and felt particularly lucky to only have suffered a bit of whiplash. A week later while styling a client’s hair in my hairdressing salon I collapsed suddenly.  Never before had something of this nature happened to me and it was so strange and frightening.  From that day onward I continued to get worse.  I began fainting once or twice a day which built quickly to five or six.  I suffered head rushes, constant dizziness, severe sweating, intense nausea and an exhaustion I never knew existed.  At its worst I could barely walk, and standing for more than one or two minutes would cause me to collapse.  My life truly fell apart around me.  I went from being a lively stylist and manager of a busy salon who was full of health and fun, to the equivalent of an elderly bedridden woman, and at the age of nineteen it was a transition much faster and more abrupt than I could accept.

I wasn’t willing to go down without a fight.  I saw several different G.P’s up to seven times, I visited every local hospital in the area as both an in and out patient and went through extensive tests, then also at three specialist hospitals in the city.  As you can imagine, even getting out of the car to the doors of the hospital caused considerable difficulty and I eventually gave in to a wheelchair.  In summer 2007 I was finally diagnosed with M.E/ chronic fatigue.  Sadly however, being diagnosed did not mean that I could receive treatment.  There was no treatment available through the NHS and they suggested I might have it all of my life.  I tried everything; a chiropractor, Bowen therapy, herbal supplements, acupuncture, neuro linguistic programming, cognitive behavioural therapy, and mickel therapy amongst others.  Some made little dents in it, others made none but I continued to search, some might say obsessively.  I was very aware that I had my health in my own hands and that if I didn’t do something about it, no one else would.   I did however enjoy the searching; it gave me a sense of hope.  I had always had a real passion for self help techniques and alternative therapies and to be honest reading all those books gave me something to fill those long days.  It kept my mind active and productive and it’s only now that I realise how vital it actually was.