A helping hand for sufferers

There are no ME specialists in Malta so a diagnosis is never really on the books. Getting an early diagnosis can help since once the sufferer is cognisant that the illness is not a figment of his imagination as some ME sufferers are made to believe, they do not keep trying to fight it off. The sufferer has a better prognosis if she or he is made to rest in the initial stages of the illness and a good chance of not being severely affected by it. Many could be suffering in silence because they would not be aware what is wrong with them. Lack of a diagnosis has led to suicide in some cases abroad.

Awareness in schools is critical. Teachers sometimes believe that students are being lazy when they do not contribute or appear to be staring or slow. In most cases at school, students who suffer from ME get bullied as they tend to keep to themselves because being with others can be too much of a strain. Those children who feel too unwell to go to school miss out on a proper education since ME is not considered a disability in Malta and private tuition is not given for free by the government. Families cannot always afford to pay for private tuition since families' pockets would be already drained due to specialists' fees for various symptoms apart from special food, pillows and sunglasses to alleviate the pain.

Another ordeal for students suffering from ME is the examination system where they are not given permission to work at a slower pace or have their exams spread out so that they can have enough rest between the sessions.

The medical profession is not aware of how sensitive sufferers are to medication. The side-effects could be worse or bigger in number than the symptom the medication is supposed to ease. If medical practitioners knew the symptoms of ME well and how the body of an ME sufferer reacts to medication they would be more careful.

Even though counselling can be of some benefit to certain ME patients, no amount of therapy will make it better. The major problem with the perception of ME is that in some parts of the medical and the wider community there is still the belief that it is a psychiatric disorder.

ME Sufferers Malta's youngest member is Denise Vella. The last three years have been difficult for Denise as she found it hard to come to terms with her condition. Denise is now attending Sixth Form and on her first day at school she spoke about her different needs, what she could manage to do and what she couldn't. She has decided to focus her Systems of Knowledge project on pushing for ME awareness, which entails a lot of work and energy on her part. Sponsors were difficult to find but an anonymous Maltese company has promised to help and the photographer came up with the idea of using Denise for the poster. Her parents will be distributing awareness posters and leaflets in hospitals, schools, clinics and wherever will make a difference to the cause of ME sufferers.