As some of you here may know, ME campaigner Kevin Tripp was killed today
whilst in a queue at a Sainsbury's store in south London.
He was the subject of a mistaken identity attack and the attacker has now
been charged with his murder.
I did not know Kevin but I do know that people are shocked and greatly
saddened at his sudden death.
He leaves behind his five year old daughter and his partner Josephine.
I have taken the liberty of pasting below Kevin's own words from his website
and a link to his site.
A news article on the Times Online website posts a picture of Kevin and
details of the incident.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4118931.ece?print=yes&randnum=1213294780406
I know my thoughts are with Kevin's family and there are many people out
there in the ME community who cannot understand why Kevin had to die.
Kevin said "Don't Give Up" to his readers.
My own phrase to myself when I became ill 12 years ago was "Give In but
Don't Give Up".
I hope that when people who learn about Kevin and what he for others with ME
and who maybe didn't know him before this news; well I hope it will inspire
some to carry on the battles that need fighting.
Sincerely,
Stephen.
=================
http://web.onetel.com/~kickback/
http://web.onetel.com/~kickback/Kevin's_Story.html
My ME/CFS Story - By Kevin Trip
It all started back in 1988. I was a happy guy in my late thirties. I had a
great job. A happy long term relationship. I enjoyed socialising. I really
loved swimming and playing squash. I had done every kind of DIY job you
could imagine, and got great satisfaction from everything physical be it
fixing the car to laying concrete.
I sort of took my health for granted as you do. I had, had paralytic Polio
as a child, which I luckily came through unscaved except for some weakness
in my right arm. Apart from the usual childhood illnesses and some
lingering, although quite chronic throat infections in the seventies, I
never would have expected to become a victim of a chronic life-altering
illness like M.E.
In the Spring of 1988, my partner (at the time) had caught flue, she was off
work for 2 weeks. By the second week I got the same infection. I tried to
soldier on but finally had to take time off. It wasn't the worst flue I'd
experienced, although I didn't know what a milestone it would later become.
After 2 weeks I appeared to be well enough to return to work. I noticed I
felt really washed out, quite normal after flue, but this Fatigue never
subsided. I found I had no energy, and felt quite poorly. This seemed to be
different to how I'd ever been after flue before, where you normally notice
your energy and well-being pick-up.
After months of working but nothing else I saw my GP, who said I should get
on with my life, go swimming etc. I told him I wanted to but felt so
fatigued that I couldn't. In fact I knew that any exertion was making me
worse. I had several blood tests at the clinic at my local hospital, which
were all negative. My friends couldn't understand why I wasn't socialising.
Almost in the blink of an eye I felt good again. My energy was OK. End of
story, I thought. This 3 month experience was quickly forgot, and I got on
with my life. I had 12 wonderful months swimming, football and socialising.
when I got a nasty stomach flue. Nasty is an understatement, I think its the
worst thing I ever had. I was ill in bed for over 2 weeks, lost a lot of
weight, and of course quite washed out when the thing subsided. I soon
noticed that as the infection left I felt very fatigued the same as I had
felt the year before. Again this awful fluey achy feeling worsened the more
I tried to do, which was very little. I was going to work, by car, and
sitting at a desk.
Again I saw my doctor, again blood tests were negative and again my friends
couldn't understand not seeing me at get togethers. I was going to work, and
that was all, I had no energy for much else. I took lots of Vit C, Zinc, and
tried everything to give my body a fighting chance, but nothing helped.
Mysteriously after 3 months everything changed instantly I was well and I
resumed my life. My mother had seen an article in a women's magazine about
'M.E' she said these symptoms sound exactly like yours. When I discretely
mentioned M.E at the hospital, I was told that, yes, they did know about it
but only came up with this diagnosis after ruling out everything else. As I
had got better again I had little interest in what had caused me so much
grief and just wanted to get on with living.
In the summer of 1990, I was made redundant. The recession had hit the
construction industry. I wasn't bothered I'd been working quite hard and
looked forward to a break, and was quite confident of finding a new job. At
my last job interviews I was offered all three jobs. I really liked where I
was, but looked forward to a change. I decided to take time out, a chance to
do up the house. I started landscaping the garden, which had resembled a
bomb site. Remains of a concrete base, tons of rubble areas of root-bound
grass. It entailed a lot of digging, breaking up and lifting bags of broken
concrete, taking them to the local tip, plenty of cold beers and watching
the world cup. It was hot and sunny, I was in my elements. As much as I
enjoyed designing and surveying buildings this was a welcome change. after
the garden I proceeded to completely renovate all the sash windows in the
house, not a quick bodge, everything stripped back where required, even
glass panes removed and frames repaired. I must confess to being a bit of a
perfectionist, and did an A1 job. By the autumn when the windows were not
completely finished, I noticed after going for a swim, I didn't feel good, I
had pains in my back, I couldn't do things without feeling awful. Again I
felt unwell, again any exertion made me much worse. I realised this damn
illness had come back.....the difference this time it didn't follow an
infection, it just suddenly appeared.
Oh well, I thought, bit of a shit but hopefully it will soon pass. Wrong,
this time it was much worse I ended up spending many weeks in bed unable to
do much except rest. After some time I thought this is crazy I must see a
specialist to get it sorted out, I'm wasting my life away. I got a list of
consultants from the M.E Association, or possibly Action for M.E and asked
my GP to refer me. By the time I attended the Chelsea and Westminster clinic
in 1991 I was having remissions and relapses each lasting about a month.
Afterseveral visits and negative blood tests they told me I was probably
susceptable to Virus's (because of my background with Polio) and my regime
of doing things when able to, and resting when unwell was correct, and there
was no need to attend the clinic on a regular basis. I was pleased not to
have to make the journey as the travelling was making me worse.
Interestingly although they never actually said to me "You've got M.E", they
wrote to my GP stating "That his M.E was getting better"
I struggled on with a pretty restricted lifestyle, I went for some job
Interviews when feeling better, but each time the well-being soon subsided
and the reality was that I wasn't yet able to get back into work.
In the Autumn of 1992 I remember a relapse, and I thought OK I'll have to
wait a boring month till it passes. I ticked off the days in my diary like a
man in a cell. One month came and went, so I thought perhaps this time the
relapse will be longer. Three months went and I was still the same. I had
some days here and there feeling better but no remissions like I had in the
past. And to this Day, almost ten years on I still haven't had a lasting
remission.
By 1994 my condition had worsened to the point where I could hardly walk at
all. I needed to claim sickness benefit as there was no way I could work. My
GP had retired. The replacement Doctor said she couldn't sign a certificate
as she didn't agree that M.E existed. I saw another GP in the same practice,
for perhaps some more understanding. He said " How old are you" "You don't
work" "You don't have a girlfriend" "What do you do all day" oh and "Have
you ever seen a Psychiatrist" I could see where he was coming from. I
changed practices, my new Doctor said she didn't believe my problems were
due to depression, she said I was motivated, and that people who were
depressed lack motivation.
Today 2001 I'm still unwell. I get a few days here and there when I feel
human, have energy, but generally I'm 'shitty'. My muscles feel like they
are borrowed from someone else, they are stiff and achy, and feel poisoned.
My muscles have wasted considerably, where I was always 10.5 stone, I now am
9 stone! incredible for my 6 foot height. I get terrible brain fog and an
aching from my brain that permeates my whole body. One could write a book
describing the symptoms of M.E, but I recently saw one sufferers account,
and he said, he could give up the physical loss painful as it was, as he'd
been very active before becoming ill, but what he couldn't live with was the
awful brain fog, sometimes having to use all your mental capacity just to
stand still, when you brain is shot. I definitely agree.
Well its not all doom and gloom. When you are suffering from a long-term
illness, you sort of have to accept it. It becomes normal. You stop grieving
for the things you can't do. The trouble with this particular illness is it
keeps changing, you start to feel better, and your mind says I'm OK, I can
think about work, I'm over it. Then you get really awful and your mind is
polarised in the other direction and you think there's no hope. I, like many
other M.E sufferers do have hope that one day we will find the answers.
Don't give up.
---
FROM drjohngreensmith@mefreeforall.org
One response to the horrific murder of M.E. sufferer Kevin Tripp, innocent
victim of mistaken identity, while in a supermarket in London.
This story has appeared prominently in every national newspaper, including
on the front page of the Daily Mirror. This reply (below) is to the article
which appeared in the Times (link below my signature). I am submitting
different letters to others and urge any one up to it to send a response to
one or more papers where it has been covered.
Every letter submitted to every newspaper will appear here
http://www.mefreeforall.org/2008-Apr-Jun.448.0.html#c3641
(Please bear with us - We are very short of volunteers due to holidays and
illness)
Cheers
John
drjohngreensmith@mefreeforall.org
Letters to the Editor.
If there is anything positive we can salvage from the tragedy of M.E.
sufferer Kevin Tripp being senselessly murdered in a supermarket (*Innocent
shopper Kevin Tripp killed by single punch, The Times, 13 June 2008*), let
it be that he was living proof that M.E. is a real, disabling, neurological
illness; it does affect sufferers for decades; it is not for idlers, nor of
psychiatric origin and there may be a link with polio. In his memory, let us
call for properly-funded biomedical research towards a better understanding
of M.E. and in hope of a cure.
The loved ones he has left behind might hang on to that as a fitting tribute
for this brave man, whom so many will miss.
Yours sincerely
John H Greensmith
drjohngreensmith@mefreeforall.org
Dr John H Greensmith
ME Free For All. org
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4124582.ece
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