Thread by @MrTopple

#Thread for #MEAW2020

So it's #MEAwarenessDay #MEAwarenessWeek. That's the disease #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis if you don't know.

My Queen @NicolaCJeffery lives with this. We've been treating her for 15 months now at a cost of thousands of pounds, because the #NHS won't help 1/7

2/7 Or rather it will help, but only by telling the 250k+ people who live with #MEcfs in the UK that it's 'all in your head'.

Today was a milestone for Nic. We've now reduced her from 78 tablets & 9 oral solutions a day to 40 and 4.

I'm not sure many people really 'get it'

3/7 Can you imagine taking 78 tablets A DAY? That's what it's taken to try & get her better. But it's come at a huge cost.

It's been the hardest thing me & her have ever done & our lives have been HARD. #Lockdown? Hard? You've no idea. Some people helped with fundraising, so TY

4/7 But many have shafted us, who shouldn't have. @MariahCarey sung in "Petals"

"So many I considered closest to me,
Turned on a dime and sold me out dutifully.
Although that knife was chipping away at me,
They turned their eyes away & went home to sleep"

5/7 That song has often been my life. And in part, those lines sum up the past 15 months.

These people know who they are. They know their sins. And we humbly forgive them. But I believe in positive & negative energy & karma. And karma's a bitch. And it will get them eventually.

6/7 Apart from a few we can count on one hand, me & Nic have only had each other for support.

Not only is that a damning indictment of UK society, but of the people supposedly in our 'support' network.

But the upside is, Nic's stronger than ever. She is more resilient & wiser

7/7 So, happy #MEAwarenessDay.

And remember - Zebras, like elephants, never forget.