foggy friends?

where would i be now if i had not found this amazing web site and chat room for those of us with m.e and their carers, family and friends. this web site connects me to others who are suffering as am i some worse then me other not so bad but each of us is struggling in our own way with the cruelty of m.e/cfs and or fibromyalgia.

i meet my friends daily in the chat room people who for the most part i have never met, but they without question judgement or comment offer support and friendship. the strange this is that we don't spend all day discussing how bad we feel though we share our ills and moan at times, for the most part we laugh and joke and talk about life giving one another support in our hour of need.

each day as i log on im grateful for the company as it stops me concentrating on how i feel and its a welcome distraction, foggy friends has given me a sense of purpose because as much as they support me i am able to do the same offer a caring word, a cyber hug or just an ear on the days where some one needs to vent the frustration and worry that builds in us all like a volcano ready to erupt. i am able to use the skills that i learnt from nursing and teaching and apply them to help those i meet in chat.

a day will not go past where someone does not ask if im ok and how the family is, what is google doing or what im having for tea, this may be mundane and boring but its the sort of contact that you have each day in the work place and take for granted, the laugh over a daft joke, the comment on the weather, and what you are planning to do next. this was all taken from me the day i became housebound and to ill to go to work and participate in life as an active member.

now my life is active in a different way, its hard to hold a conversation for a long time as i get tired and loose concentration but in chat that is not a problem as what was said is there in black and white for me to read as many times as i need to!
i can take my time to answer and no one criticise as they are all having similar probs.


my wonderful foggy friends have given me a purpose and help give me meaning, they have filled the gap of friends and work colleagues who abandoned me when i became ill.
the best thing is the lack of judgement they don't care if im dressed and have my makeup on, they are not bothered if get something wrong they just care about who i am now and give me unconditional support in much the same way as my family have and the few true friends who have stayed with us.

it may seem strange to you that a web site and people i have never met can mean so much, but they have welcomed me into their community with open arms and given me a place to feel needed and useful something that is so necessity to our sense of self.