Article: (Ireland) Woman with ME shares fears over coronavirus

[Sly Saint]

A woman with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) has opened up about her struggle with the condition and her fears during the coronavirus pandemic.

Corina Duyn, originally from Holland but now living in Waterford, said she regularly has carers coming in and out of her home and is worried about picking up the virus.

“I live alone and I cannot live without carers,” she told RSVP Live.

“I need them to come in twice a day and give me a hand, help me to get dressed and things like that.

“My immune system isn’t great - even before this, if my friends had a cold they would warn me, or if one of the carers had a cold they would wear a mask.”

She said she is trying to stay positive and not panic too much.

“I don’t want to get caught up in the fear because that’s not good for your health either,” she said.

“I’m just trying to eat well, wear gloves, if I can dress myself I will dress myself.

“The carers are touching everything I touch, I can’t keep track of cleaning everything so I just have to trust the Gods that I’ll be OK.”

Explaining her condition, she likened it to having a certain amount of money to spend each day.

“I have very limited energy,” she went on.

“Say you’ve got €100 in the bank for the day. If I have a shower, that’s €70 gone, so I only have €30 for the rest of the day.

“If you go into overdraft, it’s very expensive.

“Just like if I do too much and go beyond my allotted energy, I will pay for it the next day.”

Corina, who has lived in Ireland for 30 years, says the invisible aspects of her illness are very frustrating.

“People see me out with my carer and think I’m doing great,” she says.

“And then I come home and my carer needs to literally take my coat off, my shoes off, I can barely move."

“People don’t see the aftermath of the ten minutes I’m outside.”
She added: “With something like MS, everyone understands what it is.
“With ME, sometimes people think it’s in your head.
“I wish to God it was in my head! It would make my life a lot easier.”

full article here
https://www.rsvplive.ie/life/living-with-woman-shares-fears-21787908