From Luke Remnant:
Now that Walk for ME 2014 has been launched, I thought I'd write about the experience my family and I had doing Walk for ME last year. For those who don't know, the idea behind Walk for ME (or walk for me) is that family and/or friends do a sponsored walk on behalf of some one with ME as they are typically unable to do so themselves. It's an event aimed at raising ME Awareness as well as funds for biomedical research.
Now that Walk for ME 2014 has been launched, I thought I'd write about the experience my family and I had doing Walk for ME last year. For those who don't know, the idea behind Walk for ME (or walk for me) is that family and/or friends do a sponsored walk on behalf of some one with ME as they are typically unable to do so themselves. It's an event aimed at raising ME Awareness as well as funds for biomedical research.
Last year there were walkers across the UK and Ireland, as well as in Spain, New Zealand and the US. It is completely informal and people can choose to walk any distance they like, wherever they like and whenever they like (although most choose to do their walk in or around ME Awareness week in May). In fact you don't even have to walk last year some people swam, ran or even rode a horse!
My little sister had always been saying to me how helpless she felt with my illness and how she wished there was something she could do to help. So I asked her if she'd be prepared to do a sponsored walk on my behalf and she said she'd be delighted. The wonderful thing was then my elder sister decided to do a walk too and even my mum joined in. It was a lovely feeling having my family involved and for them to be able to actually do something proactive for the ME cause and because they all worked they were able to raise sponsorship money and awareness from people who knew little about ME before.
In the end my daughters got excited about the event too and they decided that rather than just them walking they'd push me as far as they could in a wheelchair and then drop me off and continue the walk themselves. On the day of the walk as well as the adults my daughters, nephews and baby niece all joined in too!
My little sister had always been saying to me how helpless she felt with my illness and how she wished there was something she could do to help. So I asked her if she'd be prepared to do a sponsored walk on my behalf and she said she'd be delighted. The wonderful thing was then my elder sister decided to do a walk too and even my mum joined in. It was a lovely feeling having my family involved and for them to be able to actually do something proactive for the ME cause and because they all worked they were able to raise sponsorship money and awareness from people who knew little about ME before.
In the end my daughters got excited about the event too and they decided that rather than just them walking they'd push me as far as they could in a wheelchair and then drop me off and continue the walk themselves. On the day of the walk as well as the adults my daughters, nephews and baby niece all joined in too!
We decided to walk for Invest in ME as they were a charity we felt really focused on research into ME. They were very supportive throughout and very kindly provided t-shirts for all the walkers and even wristbands for everyone which the children were delighted with. We did the walk on a warm day in May and it was so lovely to do it with my family. I think for me the highlight was being able to do something positive about ME with my daughters and really help them understand the illness better.
We were also overwhelmed by the response and generosity of people who sponsored us I think we also helped educate a lot of people about ME and the limitations it can place on those who suffer with it. I would really recommend to anyone with ME to try and get involved this year as there are so many ways people can get involved. You can get a friend or family member to do a walk for you, or if well enough do a walk yourself or even just spread news of the event amongst your friends.
I really hope as many people as possible get involved this year as together we can raise the awareness of ME and eventually beat this rotten illness!
If you are interested in more information and getting involved you can find out more at: http://ldifme.org/walk-for-me/
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| www.walkforme.co.uk |
A big thank you to Luke and Team Walk for ME! If you are worn out by all that walking or don't have anyone to take part in this event on your behalf, then The Big Sleep for ME 2014 may be just right for you :-) The countdown to the BIG sleepathon of the year has begun at .. http://thebigsleepforme.com/
