Kirstie Sivapalan
I couldn't sleep. I had insomnia at both ends of the night, one of the features of M.E that I struggle with the most. I finally gave up around 6am and, with my stomach also awake, I decided to get up, go downstairs, make myself a cup of tea and treat myself to some ginger… Continue reading Treasure
I don't have an invisible disabilty, I have a disability visibly ignored.You might, if you want, see it in my eyes if you look close enough; in my voice, with a keen ear. There's even, sometimes, a smell. Sickly sweet. But yes, there are no obvious signs - no chair nor stick, and likely a… Continue reading Undercurrent
Image reads: THEIR FINAL PERFORMANCE 1.1. Who better than those who profess to know minds to twist our actions? Those that have plundered the void to plug with their confidence (tricks). To keep those of us blighted by secrets locked tight in our cells bombarded by their (un)veiled attacks. To call us the aggressors in their… Continue reading Their Final Performance: ProtestNICE4ME
CAUTION: I am fairly new to this kind of advocacy so apologies that I published this before adding this caution. This blog post contains real experiences of people who have been harmed by a therapeutic intervention known as Graded Exercise Therapy and the stories could be upsetting and may trigger feelings of trauma, loss and… Continue reading GET Lost
(This is the third part of my M.E story. If you haven’t yet, I’d recommend you read parts one and two, here and here.) In the early part of 2010 I packed my bags and headed to Peru. I had decided to have one last adventure before hitting my forties and quickly found myself 3000… Continue reading ME and the Virus that had never really gone
Image reads: Mission 2021: If my liberty means the incarceration of others, I am not free. If my prosperity means the poverty of others, I have no riches. If my success means the failure of others, I have not achieved. If my wellbeing means the sickness of others, I cannot heal. Until we are all… Continue reading Mission 2021
Happy FoolishRhetoricExpeditesExcessDeathsOf theMasses Day 19th July, #FreedumbDay is trending and England has dropped all restrictions. The pandemic is over here as our Government said so. Or rather that is the subtle message that is carried on its waves. They have also told people to take personal responsibility and use caution but since it took charging… Continue reading FreeDumb Day
The Kings Library at the British Library, one of my sacred spaces. Photo: K Sivapalan 2018 Free to use I wrote the poem below twelve days ago now. People with M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) will recognise the play on a familiar term we use in my title - PEM, which is short for Post-Exertional Malaise. This… Continue reading P/o/EM
(This is the second part of three of my story of M.E. If you haven’t yet, I’d recommend you read part one here) 2nd Edit: Oops. I managed to forget a very significant event in my life, or maybe block it out, due to my desire to finish this piece and rest. I've added it now.… Continue reading M.E and the virus that went away…for a while… (maybe)
I was just starting to stir this morning. Not quite asleep, not quite awake, lying in the world in between. I felt nothing. No pain, no tiredness, for a moment I thought I had recovered and allowed space to entertain the feeling. But I took a breath and time moved on and it all came… Continue reading If only
Writing and M.E. 