Eleven Years with Severe ME – A Young Woman Writes Her Story

Taken from: www.meaction.net

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Jessica Taylor-Bearman has written a book called “A Girl Behind Dark Glasses” about her “forgotten years” of having severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) for 11 years since the age of 15. Her book focuses on the four years she spent hospitalized during which she was unable to speak, eat or move for the first two years. Since then, Jessica has made improvements in her health but she remains bed-bound 98 percent of the time at her home in Rochester, Kent in the U.K.

Jessica and her fiancé, Samuel, have launched a Kickstarter campaign to self-publish her book with the intention to turn it into an audiobook and translate it into multiple languages. Support her Kickstarter campaign to help spread her story of severe ME far-and-wide. (As we publish this, Jessica is preparing to deliver a speech about ME to members of parliament.) 

A post popped up on Jessica’s Facebook page recently announcing that two years ago she had sat up for the first time in nine years. Jessica has been working steadily since then to learn to walk again one step at-a-time. Her personal best, so far, is 10 steps. The doctors told her she would never walk again, but Jessica has long since learned not to trust what the doctors tell her. Jessica is particularly focused on walking right now because she has less than two weeks to train herself to walk down the aisle for her wedding on April 29th.

Jessica’s fighting spirit has charted her through every stage of her illness. She has always had a spirited, outgoing personality and before she fell ill she was a very active, full-of-life 15-year-old who loved to joke around.

“I just loved living,” Jessica said.

To read the full interview with Jessica Click Here

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