Help Joey Get the Medical Care He Needs

 Widespread pain in his muscles and joints and a dramatic loss in mobility; gastrointestinal problems such as changes in the bacteria in his gut, constant nausea, abdominal pain, stomach infections, and the inability to digest properly; and cognitive issues such as confusion, the inability to concentrate, memory loss, and difficulties speaking/expressing himself to the point of near muteness. 

Worst of all, these constant neurological misfirings leave Joey prone to sudden, violent seizures. As if that weren’t enough for someone to reckon with, M.E. is also linked to the onset of numerous other conditions, such as fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome. 

The key characteristic of M.E. is post-exertional malaise (P.E.M.), which leads to symptoms growing worse after physical or mental activity. The simplest tasks, like brushing his teeth or reading an email, are enough exertion to potentially trigger Joey’s symptoms because his brain and nervous system have become too sick from the inflammation to properly convert or ration energy. This means that doing the bare minimum to function has become a struggle for survival. Oftentimes, Joey finds himself confined to his chair - isolated from people and sensations, where it is a major accomplishment if he can get himself a glass of water, or manage to listen to little music without becoming overstimulated. 

Though M.E. is recognized by the World Health Organization, the US National Academy of Medicine and the Canadian Consensus Criteria on the basis of a P.E.M. diagnosis, resources and research regarding the disease are miniscule, and to say that treatment is hardly known to exist is an overstatement. Commonly, patients with M.E. are treated as though they have chronic fatigue at best, or as though they are claiming to have a condition that doesn’t exist at worst. M.E. is still too widely unknown by the medical community and the public alike. As such, Joey, and people like him, will be forced to face this disease unaided indefinitely. 

The only help Joey can get - what he is entirely dependent on - is the compassion of others. Joey’s friends have organized this page in an effort to provide him with the resources to keep himself comfortable, as well as for him and his friends to continue seeking medical professionals who DO recognize M.E. and may finally offer insight into how he could be treated, or at least how he could manage better than he has been. As mentioned before, medical care options are far and few between for those with M.E., and your help would go a long way to keep the search going, as well as assist in minimizing Joey’s suffering as much as possible in the meantime. Please consider making a contribution to this page. Until Joey can receive medical care, he needs to receive our care.