Recommended book
Post date: Nov 17, 2018 4:24:14 PM
Hi all, I wish to share with you an email from Catherine Saunders who has had a book published called "Understanding Severe ME - Essential Guide for Family & Friends" in a bid to raise awareness. Please find the email below with a link to the book. I intend to get a copy when I have the funds and will share it with the group.
Dear Ipswich ME Support Group,
Great to hear there is a support group in Ipswich helping ME patients & their families cope.
Hopefully, my email will give your members a further source of information and guidance.... a book written by me, a former Severe ME Patient of Professor Findley...the consultant who used to head up the amazing ME Specialist NHS Unit in Essex, sadly now closed.
Long story short, I was very severely affected and am now approx 70% recovered...but as you know, not all severely affected patients are that lucky.
I lost over a decade of my life to this cruel illness and one of the hardest things to cope with - besides the bedpans, bedbaths, spoon feeding, light sensitivity and relentless pain - was how little my Family & Friends knew about the harsh realities of Severe ME. Like so many other patients, this caused immense stress at a time when my Carer husband and I desperately needed their understanding, support and compassion.
So, one of my goals, when strong enough, was to try and turn my own experience into something positive, something which might help all those thousands of poor families affected by Severe ME following in my wake.
To this end, I have recently published a book on Amazon: "Understanding Severe ME - Essential Guide for Family & Friends"
Buy Understanding Severe ME: Essential Guide For Family & Friends by C.H. Saunders (ISBN: 9781973344452) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
I lost many years to ME but I am one of the lucky ones. I had 2 x 6 week admissions to Professor Findley's renowned NHS Severe ME Unit in Essex plus the support of Specialist ME Outreach Nurses in Greater Manchester for over 3 years. These interventions helped my recovery dramatically but sadly both specialist ME units are no more. And so, in addition to explaining what the hell is going on in Severe ME, I also detail in my book what I learnt from these specialist ME Services that helped in my own recovery.
Feedback so far has been extremely positive and the book is being used far more widely than I ever anticipated:
Mild/Moderate ME Patients are asking Family & Friends to read it to explain how severe ME can become if patients are pushed.
Patients & Carers are giving a copy to their GPs.
Patients & Carers are giving a copy to local ME/CFS Clinics.
Carers of younger Patients are giving a copy to their patients' Schools/Universities.
Severe ME Patients & Carers are giving a copy to Friends & Family.
Feedback like this is wonderful. This is the ME Book I wish had been around when I was so ill, a book that could have spoken for me when I was too ill to speak for myself.
Am attaching a digital information leaflet and a copy of a letter from Professor Findley himself about my book, so you and your team can be assured it has the support of one of the most highly respected ME Specialists in the UK.
And if you would like some printed leaflets for your team and the patients you support, please just drop me a line, very happy to post some out to you for your members.
Really hope you find the book useful, and please, feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all.
Here is a shortened link to Amazon...the book is available as a Paperback and as an E-Book.
Kind regards,
Catherine
(C H Saunders - Author)