A mum who spent nearly 17 years housebound due to the effects of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) brought on after a miscarriage which nearly killed her, leaving her chronically fatigued and unable to walk upstairs, has now recovered and retrained to help other people with debilitating conditions. Helen Perks, 54, who now works as a nutritional therapist, health and wellness strategist and lifestyle medicine practitioner, said a life-threatening miscarriage at 12 weeks of pregnancy was the catalyst for triggering symptoms of extreme fatigue and she “lost almost everything” after being diagnosed with ME.
There is no cure for ME but, since 2017, she has no longer been experiencing symptoms and now helps other people experiencing chronic illness or going through the side effects of menopause. Helen said: “I have never felt exhaustion like it and I don’t mean just tiredness.
“This was not a feeling where I just wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep, this was where all my body could strain to do was breathe. Some days even going to the toilet, which was only a few steps away, was totally exhausting.
