An 18-year-old girl was informed that her persistent fatigue was probably due to depression and the pressure of her A-level exams. However, she was eventually diagnosed with a debilitating chronic illness. Elizabeth Hope, who hails from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, suffered from excruciating headaches and would fall asleep at 5pm every day while studying for her A-levels. She recalls, "My mother would wake me up for dinner and then I would maybe spend an hour on homework, which is clearly insufficient when you're preparing for your A-levels, and then I would fall asleep again."
When Hope expressed the need to lie down during rehearsals for a school show and stopped attending cheerleading practice due to extreme fatigue, her parents realized that there was a serious issue. She says, "Initially, my parents thought that I simply didn't want to go to school. But when I started being unable to engage in activities that I enjoyed, we realized that something was seriously wrong."
She sought the opinion of another doctor who diagnosed her with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome or ME. This is a long-term illness that affects the nervous and immune systems. Individuals with ME often experience intense pain and fatigue, along with various other symptoms, which make even simple physical and mental tasks exhausting, according to the NHS.
Hope was so fatigued that she struggled to leave her house without the assistance of a wheelchair. She states, "I was essentially confined to my house. We would occasionally go to one store, but then I would have to return home. Being able to use a wheelchair was a game-changer for me because it allowed me to visit two or three shops or go to the park and similar activities."
Despite her challenges, this 18-year-old woman, who was initially told that her constant exhaustion was likely due to depression and exam stress, has not only overcome her adversity but has also become an award-winning wheelchair dancer and dancing instructor. She admits to having experienced feelings of loneliness and uncertainty during her journey.
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