UK Guardian: ME left me bed bound for nearly five years. A potted plant helped me rebuild my life

Split thread
I saw this one in the Guardian today. What's going on??

"ME left me bedbound for nearly five years. A potted plant helped me rebuild my life"

https://www.theguardian.com/society...ears-a-potted-plant-helped-me-rebuild-my-life

She has a book to sell on growing food, but come on!

 

Given that we always sound like conspiracy theorists anyway, doesn't the timing of these articles seem a little ...odd? Given how much Maeve's mum has been all over the news and is being taken seriously, that suddenly there is a rash of positive thinking/recovery memoirs..?

I see the gruinaid has reverted to normal service pushing these types of memoirs

The author of the potted plant article is getting a lot of criticism, which is a little unfair when she is just telling her story, but the framing is deeply disingenuous as it glosses over the fact that getting this sick is horrific and has been allowed to happen and that people are left to figure it out for themselves inthe best way they can. Frustrating all round.

 

I'm Sorry I wasted 3 minutes of my life that I won't get back reading this.

"But on my windowsill it sat. And you know what? That little plant changed everything. Helpless as a baby, just as I had been, it needed me. For everything. So, when I woke up each day, it was the first thing I would check on. Did it need water? Did its leaves need to be wiped? Did it need to be fed?"

 

Thank you Yes After 5 years my body began to improve I cannot say why I was one of the lucky ones It was then that getting outdoors became possible - with a stairlift Please never give up hope And Pls never let the haters on here bring you down

https://twitter.com/user/status/1844366464159187339

 

She anticipated this response, obv seeing the implications of her story, went ahead with it anyway, and is now criticizing Severe patients aka. “Haters” on Twitter for criticizing her.

 

I understand that, but does the M.E community need this? A spontaneous recovery is fine but her story reads like Jack in the Beanstalk.

 

Without biomarkers stories like this opens us up to mockery imo. Comments refer to pwME as 'haters' and 'militants'.

 

Well ain't this all a big mess of confusion and holistic pseudoscience.

Ultimately irrelevant since only a research breakthrough will make any difference, but damn frustrating. People want to tell their story, even when they insist it's just their story, it all gets distorted back to the fashionable pseudoscience.

In a sane world, the idea of someone middle aged having their whole life reduced to a few plants should be a tragedy. But the framing instead makes it inspirational. All the fault of the medical profession for being so damn gullible.

Bah.

 

She is blocking critical tweeters and hiding their tweets.

 

This. Exactly [expletive deleted] this.

Funny how these articles continue insist on missing the point; why does anyone need to be trapped in a darkened room for five years?! And yet we are supposed to say "oh, isn't that nice - she can do 20mins gardening"

 

She is leaving X because of the 'haters'. Chronically ill people are genuinely happy for those who recover. She needs to distinguish frustration from hate. The word hate is rooted in shame, fear, and humiliation.

 

https://www.ladymuck.style/blog/2024/8/20/2qn7rumkwi0s5owr67gjzv7eneejgi

Part of blogpost copied below
I did read somewhere on X that the article had been edited with a lot taken out.

"
Struck down by Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) which left me little more than a breathing corpse for many years. Bedbound, in a blacked-out room in constant pain, unable to walk, talk, sit, stand, feed, or wash myself. Nursed 24/7 by my beloved husband and our two amazing Mums.

It took me many years to escape that living hell. With several terrifying relapses along the way. Bedpans, wheelchairs, and stairlifts, my new best friends. But I was one of the lucky few to find a way out. So many Severe ME Patients never do.

So, when I find myself stressing about a book launch…

I remember those hellish years trapped in bed in darkness.

I remember being unable to feed myself.

I remember being unable to walk.

I remember the pain in every inch of my body.

I remember seeing the heartache and worry etched on my husband’s face.

And I catch myself.

You’ve been through a lot worse than this though, haven’t you?

And then, I give thanks. Thanks to whoever decided to give me a second chance at this life. And hope that I’ve used it wisely - and created books that will make you smile, whatever might be going on in your life behind the scenes. And hopefully, they will encourage you to get outside too, into your gardens, grabbing second chances as you go.

Now where is the damned chocolate!?!? I

 

"I remember those hellish years trapped in bed in darkness.

I remember being unable to feed myself.

I remember being unable to walk.

I remember the pain in every inch of my body."



Yeah, so do I. All of that.

On my own. No fucking carer. At times starving.

I am very lucky to be alive.



And 2 decades after the worst - I am still unable to do the gardening I want to do.



I don't need fucking Encouragement!!!!!

Patronising

Oblivious to the reality of living with severe ME without help!

.

 

The Main Headline this week was:

'Coroner demands urgent action to prevent further deaths from ME'



Not .... 'Look at me gardening and buy my book'

.

 

She should have read the room.

.

 

I think it would of been easier if the pot plant woman had the article written by a journalist. But it was all her words. There was no excuse of poor journalism. It could have been easily tweaked to not be quite so insulting. She's a writer so she should be able to do this.

The plant is a very good writing tool, as it gives focus and centre and inspiration. But it's also highly damaging for the message it gives.

It's such a shame as she went through very severe ME and could have made a more nuanced and intelligent contribution.