Author looked for death clinic online
THESE photos show the shocking deterioration caused by chronic fatigue syndrome.
And sufferer Eileen Munro believes not enough is being done to help people like her, whose lives have been devastated by ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis).
She is demanding NHS Scotland provides services fit to cope with the 21,000 people who have the muchmisunderstood condition.
Eileen, 56, from Edinburgh, has suffered constant fatigue and often intense pain for more than two decades and says she has had little support from NHS Scotland.
She believes that with so many people affected, Scotland needs a centre of excellence to tackle the symptoms and improve the lives of sufferers.
In Scotland, there is one nurse-led clinic, based in Fife.
Eileen, the author of two best-selling memoirs, said: “They do their best but don’t have the expertise or the resources to make a difference and they’re not accessible to ME patients in distant
BY MARCELLO MEGA parts of Scotland. Given the number of people whose lives are ruined by this condition, you’d think there would be greater urgency to provide support and that the NHS would fund research and effective treatment.
“I just want the right to be able to access safe housing, medical support and security without having to live under a stress cloud all my life.”
Eileen was left with ME after a brain infection, viral encephalitis, which resulted from a severe attack of chicken pox more than 20 years ago.
She was hospitalised with collapsed lungs and swelling on the brain, and has never fully recovered.
During one prolonged period of extreme pain that led to her being hospitalised for a week earlier this year, Eileen found herself googling the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland as she was considering ending her life there. She said: “I feel ashamed of that.”
Many ME sufferers in the UK have had cuts to their benefits – despite 250,000 people being diagnosed with the neuro immune condition.
Several medics believe it is a psychological condition, often driving sufferers to despair. A Welsh councillor recently committed suicide after diagnosis.
Sufferers have been offered a ray of hope by Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Catherine Calderwood.
At a recent meeting of the public petitions committee at Holyrood, she pledged to ask experts to analyse trials.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We support the development of new and effective approaches to diagnosis and treatment.
“Earlier this month, the Scottish Government published a five-year action plan to support people with a neurological condition backed by £4.5million of funding.
“The plan, developed with the neurological community, will ensure people get access to personalised care and support, regardless of their particular condition or where in Scotland they live.”