BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

by Renee Martin The personal narrative is something I have avoided, because the naked honesty also leaves one extremely vulnerable to attack. Living in a marginalized body is difficult enough without showing one’s war wounds, but when it becomes clear that hiding is only enabling the complete erasure of people who look and function like me, then it is time to speak out . You see, I am fat, Black, female and differently-abled. I can never completely be at home with any one of the labels that best describe me. In the media, I can see Black women, or even fat black women, but fat and differently abled are definitely categories that are understood to be mutually exclusive. A body like mine contradicts the mainstream social discourse. Fat activist groups like NAAFA (The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance) have worked hard to promote HAES (Health at any size). NAAFA’s goal is to build “a society in which people of every size are accepted with dignity and equality in all a...

by Toni Bernhard, J.D. The Stigma of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I've been sick since 2001 when I failed to recover from what appeared to be an acute viral infection. It has left me mostly house-bound, often bed-bound. In effect, I've had the flu without the fever for almost ten years: the aches and pains, the dazed sick feeling, the low grade headache, the severe fatigue. It cost me my career as a law professor; it cost me the ability to be active in the lives of my children and grandchildren. Because I meet the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) case definition, I've been given the diagnosis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Although there have been some promising developments (a possible connection to a retrovirus; the presence of unique proteins in the spinal fluid of CFS patients), as of this writing, there's no proven cause and no cure. This is not surprising, given that so little money is allocated for research into this debilitating illness. Why? One reason i...

PLEASE WATCH THIS WHOLE VIDEO The doctors and psychiatrist threatened Sophia with sectioning in a mental hospital if she refused to go into a particular M.E. Clinic. They carried out their threat in July 2003. The effects on Sophia's health were devastating. She died on 25th November 2005. She was only 32. I believe it is now time that not only the public in general, but doctors, psychiatrists, the legal profession and M.P.s should read Sophia's documents. They need to see them so that they can understand how the doctors, psychiatrists, social workers and others in high places coldly ignored the truly terrible physical suffering she endured; how her right to make a valid choice was brushed aside and her human rights totally abused. It is clear to me that grave injustices were done to her, not only in her life, but in what I see as a 'cover up' in her death. This same criteria is still being used against many thousands of others with M.E. in a similar way. From: ht...

By DENISE GRADY Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome are infected with a little known virus that may cause or at least contribute to their illness, researchers are reporting. The syndrome, which causes prolonged and severe fatigue, body aches and other symptoms, has long been a mystery ailment, and patients have sometimes been suspected of malingering or having psychiatric problems rather than genuine physical ones. Worldwide, 17 million people have the syndrome, including at least one million Americans. An article published online Thursday in the journal Science reports that 68 of 101 patients with the syndrome, or 67 percent, were infected with an infectious virus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV. By contrast, only 3.7 percent of 218 healthy people were infected. Continuing work after the paper was published has found the virus in nearly 98 percent of about 300 patients with the syndrome, said Dr. Judy A. Mikovits, the lead author of the paper. XMRV is a ...

I hate, really really HATE reality shows. They show a complete and utter lack of imagination and encourage total Destructive Narcissism. The only one I enjoy is BIGGEST LOSER. I recently lost some weight and I have more to go, but it's being done with medical supervision because MY EATING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY WEIGHT. Let's just say 41 years of PCOS , numerous surgeries, disability and medication helped that. I am still taking care of myself, well dressed, my doctors have commented on how clean I keep myself and being a good role model for my kids. The only other 'reality-type' shows I enjoy are CLEAN HOUSE and my friend, RUBY . That's it. Most of the time it's CSI, Law & Order or Medium. Shows that ENGAGE YOUR BRAIN! Then reality TV has to screw it all up again! From Intellectual Babe It's weird - for whatever reason this particular week I became acutely aware of just how much out-and-out hatred is leveled at fat people. Or, at the very lea...

MAY 12 AWARENESS DAY Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Fact Sheet Chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) is also called chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). It is recognized by the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and Social Security Administration as a serious, disabling illness. CFIDS is characterized by unrelenting exhaustion, muscle and joint pain, cognitive disorders and other symptoms (read on). Many people with CFIDS are denied disability benefits because doctors and employers wrongly believe they are lazy or have a mental illness rather than a serious physical condition. Although its name trivializes the illness as little more than mere tiredness, chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), brings with it a constellation of debilitating symptoms. CFIDS is characterized by incapacitating fatigue (experienced as p...

Thanks to FIGHTING FATIGUE.ORG for my mention in the Disability Blog Carnival. Fighting Fatigue and CFIDS Blog Carnival " The Fighting Fatigue Blog Carnival will focus on chronic illnesses such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Interstitial Cystitis and related chronic illnesses and health issues. " To check out this blog and links to all the great blogs aboutliving with a chronic illness - CLICK HERE. Thanks Sandy! PLEASE CLICK HERE TO JBLOG ME

THANKS FOR THE MENTION SPARK! Together we can help education people about the horrors and reality of living with these invisible disabilities! "A posting on Barbara’s Tchatzkahs blog by Marina Vataj entitled “ Wake Up and Smell the Real Deal on Fatigue” discusses the CDC’s acknowledgement of CFS as a real disease. It lists symptoms and statistics and provides the CDC’s website address. (208/07)" CLICK HERE FOR A FULL MEDIA LIST FROM SPARK