Mum's Desperate Battle

Mum's Desperate Battle to get help for her ill boy
Special Report By Paula Mackin.

Each day my son opens his eyes in pain and goes to sleep in agony.

David Christie is trapped in a body that doesn't work and in a world where nobody cares.

At 13-years-of -age his life has stopped. His once fun filled and active lifestyle is a distant memory since the former Jujitsu champion was diagnosed with ME, a debilitating illness that has robbed him of everything he took for granted.

Now, while the teenager's friends are out enjoying their teenage years, he is housebound, spending every single day in bed too exhausted even to make it down the stairs.

David is also in constant agony, at night he suffers such severe pains in his chest he is terrified he is having a heart attack.

And as his family look on in horror they are helpless to ease his suffering as the painkillers prescribed to him don't work.

Speaking to the Sunday World David's distraught mother Antoinette reveals why she has very little hope for her son's future and begs the Government to provide the cash to research the disease, which has wrecked their lives.

And she claims David is not receiving the best medical help as the doctors are limited in what they can do due to lack of understanding of the disease.

"No one is helping us, no one seems to be able to tell us what is happening to our son and there is very little being done to research this disease that has no cure," she said.

"My son is lying up the stairs unable to do anything. He suffers from severe chest pain on a nightly basis, pain that can only be described as having a heart attack and nothing is being done to help him.

"He is helpless, he relies on us for everything and we are not getting any support. We have no home help or funding to help care for David. Our support network is our family, it is a disgrace," she said.

David was diagnosed with ME in October 2005 and since then his life has stopped. He hasn't been to school and he has watched helplessly as his friends moved on.

"He has lost out on everything, you wouldn't recognise him now from the child he used to be. When I look at his picture I can't believe it is the same wee boy who is lying upstairs wasting away.

"It breaks my heart to see him like this, I feel so helpless because there is nothing I can do to help him. I get so angry because ME is not treated as seriously as it should be. Some doctors even refuse to accept it as an illness.

"The government should be supplying cash to fund research, they should be trying to find a cure even to give sufferers and their family hope but they're not. It is a forgotten illness, nobody seems interested," she claimed.

David was a very active and happy child who won the National Title in Jujitsu in 2002, he loved rock climbing and going out with friends who described him as the life and soul of the party.

Today however he has lost contact with his pals, his waking hours are filled with watching DVD's, his family are his only company.

"He should be out there enjoying his life, being happy not lying up there with his life passing by him. It is so sad and it breaks all out hearts. You wouldn't believe the child he was before, he never sat down for a minute.

"His room is covered in trophies, he loved school and excelled in everything he did. I would do anything to have that wee boy back, anything at all," she said tearfully.

Every day David opens his eyes in pain and goes to sleep in agony.

"He struggles to get out of bed and when he is able to do this his energy levels have been exhausted. A task we take for granted every day is a chore. The disabling weakness and exhaustion that he suffers is so profound that the use of the word fatigue is an insult.

"It is like having a vacuum cleaner above your head sucking all of your energy and strength out. Stairs are difficult for him to manage, he gets exhausted before he reaches the bottom and has to stop half way because he is in pain.

"His new friends are paracetamol and codeine though the pain is never completely relieved," Antoinette explained.
Every member of the Christie family have had their lives turned upside down since David's soul destroying illness took hold.

His exhausted mother relies on a mere two hours sleep per night as David sleeps all day only dropping off into a pain filled sleep at six in the morning.

"I am close to a nervous breakdown, I get about two hours sleep a night because I still have to keep the family and the house going while looking after David.

"There are nights when I don't get him to sleep until six and seven in the morning and then I have to get up and do all the everyday things that need done. His daytime is our sleep time so it is very hard.

The only thing that is keeping Antoinette sane is her campaign to help her son and raise awareness for the condition.

"We have a great G.P and consultant but they don't know enough about M.E to make a difference. There is only so much they can do, this is a very serious illness but there has not been enough research into it and I am determined to change that.

'I have raised six thousand pounds so far and I won't stop there. I want people to understand what this illness does to people, it's not the 'Yuppy flu' or chronic fatigue, that is the most insulting thing you can say to someone who is suffering from ME.

'Before David was diagnosed one consultant told him there was nothing wrong with him and that he should get himself back to school, I will never forgive that consultant for saying those words but it just goes to show how important it is to get recognition for ME.

Antoinette Christie is a contact support for NI MEA

Anyone who wishes to get in touch with Antoinette regarding ME can e-mail her at antoinette_christie@yahoo.co.uk