the lowdown .................................

During ME Awareness Week, Dom Spencer will be launching himself out of an aeroplane, on the behalf of the 240,000 adults and children around the UK who are currently living and struggling daily with the illness known as ME. His reasons for doing the parachute jump are simple, to increase public awareness of the illness and to raise funding for his favourite ME online support group called Brainfog.

Having lived with ME himself for more than 15 years now, he knows only too well what a devastating and isolating illness this can be and just how little is really understood about it. This is an illness that affects each individual to varying degrees. From those who are completely bed bound, dependant 24 hours a day on their carers – to those who are able to continue working whilst maintaining a relatively normal life-style. Dom is one of the lucky ones. He has been at both ends of the scale and now to celebrate his remission he plans to make this positive leap to heighten that much needed awareness – and he also just wants to jump out of a plane!

Dom first contracted ME at the age of ten and was so severely affected that he was barely able to attend school. He only started to make a good recovery after seven long years of the illness, and was then able, in 1994, to start attending Sixth Form College where he went on to win prestigious awards for his work. Having gained suitable qualifications, he began a Degree Course in Computer Aided Engineering. However, after just two years, a more severe ME relapse put an end to his hopes of completing the final two years and in 2001 he reluctantly decided to give up his studies in favour of regaining his health. He then moved back to his parents house where two years later he is now recovered enough to work a few voluntary hours a week.

Dom has chosen to raise money for the International Online Community called ‘Brainfog' (named after one of the common symptoms of ME, an inability to think clearly) because of it’s unique take on living life with ME. That is something that is immediately clear from the motto of the website: ‘Brainfog – Keeping the lighter side of ME and life, well and truly ALIVE!!’ Dom came across the website whilst surfing the internet one night and within a week he had moved in.

Brainfog currently has over 1500 members, who rely heavily on it to provide crucial social contact in the isolated and lonely world of the chronically ill. The focus of the main website, chatroom and forum/message board is to give support and understanding while providing a safe online home where the foggers can have some fun and find that much missed normality within their illness. Building and hosting such a website takes significant resources which are provided solely by the Founder and donations, and although it is staffed by volunteers, help is needed with the on going financial costs.

Dom is part of the team of brainfoggy moderators and gives up many hours of his precious energy and time to help with the administration of the website. And so it is not only to fulfil a life long dream that Dom is willing to throw himself out of an aeroplane two miles above the ground but also for the benefit of his new brainfoggy cyber friends.

Two years ago, Dom wouldn’t have been able to jump out of bed – now he is in remission and well enough to jump out of a plane. Doms story demonstrates that although there is as yet no cure for this illness, that there is still hope that through pacing, rest and medication, people with ME can once more find some sort of normality, although it is fair to say that nothing about jumping out of a plane is normal!

By Dom Spencer

Dom’s parachute jump will be taking place on Friday the 16th May 2003 with UK Parachuting at Old Buckenham Airfield, Attleborough, Norfolk.     If you would like to sponsor him or just drop him a ‘good luck’ line, you can e-mail dom @ brainfog dot org

If you would like more information about ME and the website Brainfog, you can e-mail ally on ally @ brainfog dot org and visit Brainfog at www.brainfog.org

Useful internet references

Brainfog: www.brainfog.org
Action for ME: www.afme.org.uk
The ME Association: www.meassociation.org.uk
25% ME Group: www.25megroup.org