‘Write the greatest comeback story there has ever been’

Every morning, without fail, I have a list of around 10 phrases I say aloud to myself, three times in a row. It's just one of the many 'healing strategies' I've picked up along this journey. I spend at least 30 minutes as soon as I wake up, carrying out this little routine, which includes …

Can you ever come to terms with a chronic illness?

Yes, I'm still here. For those of you that either haven't been here before, or are starting to forget who I am, or what I look like; I'm Joe - 33 years old, and suffering immensely with a chronic illness. It's suspected to be either Long Covid, Chronic Fatigue (ME), vaccine injury, or some other …

18 months down – continuing to fight a chronic illness.

I'm finding it a lot harder to put words onto paper these days. I feel like I'm due an update, and I know lots of people genuinely care and want to know how I'm doing. I also feel obliged to document everything, in the slim hope that things might one day be drastically different, and …

Parkrun may well have saved my life

I’m also documenting my recovery journey on Instagram - head over to @flatcapspraggs I'm going to assume lots of you already know what parkrun is. A free, weekly, 5 kilometer run/walk on a Saturday morning, at 9AM. There are hundreds in the UK - most likely one very near you. Anyone can go. You don't …

2022 review – ‘racing/training’ summary

I started writing this thinking it was going to be a summary of misery, but it's actually really interesting, alongside highlighting how much of a stupid moron I can be when it comes to battering myself into the ground. Read on for more. I've written one of these every year for the last 9 years, …

When do you stop believing in fairy tales?

You see it all over social media. Defying the odds and coming back better than ever. Striking back in the face of adversity and proving that 'you can do it, if you just set you mind to it'. But what about if your body doesn't let you? What if it's actually broken beyond repair? You …

My spirit has finally been completely broken

I've included a detailed list of all the tests I've had, symptoms I've got, and potential causes for what's going on at the bottom of this post, for those that are interested/have asked It felt like something really significant changed within me in the last week. Up until this point, I know I've been thoroughly …

Fighting a losing battle – chronic fatigue/long COVID?

I'm still hanging in there. I'm finding posting these updates helps me keep attached in some way to my old life, so I'm going to crack on with them. So many people have said to me it's refreshing and reassuring to see and hear the truth - that not everyone is 'living their best life' …

The toughest challenge I’ve ever faced

'The future is looking bright'. That's how I ended things in my last post. Talk about tempting fate. 6 days later, I recognised some early warning signs of feeling a bit sick, so I immediately stopped all exercise and other commitments, in a hope that this would fend off any relapse back into hell. Wrong. …

To hell and back (AKA – what the f*ck has been going on?)

I've been meaning to write something like this for a while, but it's been extremely hard to put my feelings into words. It's only now that (spoiler alert) things are nearly back to normal, that it seems easier to process what has happened in the last few months. Rewind back to December - I felt …