2) Interferon is one of the signalling proteins our immune system makes to respond to viruses. It's used as medicine for MS and hepatitis C where it causes extreme malaise and fatigue as a side effect. For this reason, it has always been of interest in conditions such as ME/CFS.

Absolutely ridiculous that you felt you had to resign when so many nasty, twisted people flourish at a much higher level in the BBC.

I supported the access to MAID, and extending it to those with non-terminal illnesses—because I believed there would be strong guardrails.

I was utterly wrong. It’s quickly become a way to save the government money so there’s no incentive to provide strong oversight.

I erroneously believed that HCWs weren’t permitted to proactively suggest MAiD. I assumed the patient had to make the request.

I went home and researched and sure enough - they are actually encouraged to bring it up.

Not only in terminal patients - but in those with disabilities as well /4

The wait time for a consult was over a year - and I pointed out I didn’t think I could last a year given I was only 90lbs

The reply? MAiD can be arranged in 3 months if the wait times are unacceptable

I was so shocked & appalled that I lodged a complaint - only to be told they did nothing wrong /3

I was severely malnourished - something that often occurs in patients with EDS and/or MCAS. No matter how hard I tried - I couldn’t keep food down.

I had lost a tremendous amount of weight and my albumin was so low that my legs were filled with fluid and “weeping” /2

Instead the UK dug into cultural masculinity that denied airborne transmission & collective responsibility. The toughness of presenteeism still dominates.

This was and is driven by media nationalism. We know pandemics push societies to the right to avoid accountability & cost. /12

😷 Masks aren't traumatising.
Abandonment is.
Airborne denial is.
Hospital-acquired infection is.
Long Covid and severe ME is.

The most traumatising part of the ongoing pandemic and current flu surge is the refusal to care. /14

😷The real scandal isn’t masks - it’s how many people need them and are denied cultural permission to use them without ridicule.

It shows a culture deeply rooted in ableism. Disabled people had reinforced (again) that adaptions are not normalised, they are stigmatised. /13

It's obviously not the same as people who remained frozen for decades but it was an interesting echo of it.

Perhaps there is a signalling pathway permantly stuck on in encephalitis lethergica that is transiently activated when a subset of pwME crash.

I read some of this as I worsened from mild to severe and I found it striking how much the temporary/transient episodes of paralysis I was beginning to experience in ME/CFS crashes reminded me of the permanent paralysis these people experienced.

The petition states: "We ask for your signature to show how important this research is for millions of people who live with ME/CFS. By signing this petition you support scientific progress greater awareness and continued funding for a study that has the potential to change lives"