On Thursday 24th of May, Linda started her European “Tour of Hope” with a very exciting day on the Isle of Man, a beautiful island located in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. She had been invited by the “ME Support Group” to work together in a joint mission for better ME / CFS patient rights. Linda was welcomed by Celia Marshall, Craig Morris and Phil Gawne, hosts and organizers of this visit.
Linda started her day early with a meeting with the Minister of Health and Social Security, Kate Beecroft and the Director of Commissioning, Tim Mansfield. The meetings went very well and the Minister and Director said that they would move forward in setting up services for adults and children with ME / CFS. After a short tour of the Parliament Tynwald and House of Keys with Phil Gawne – a past member of the House of Keys – Linda gave a presentation to 15 members of the House of Keys. The members were very engaged, asked great questions and seemed interested to help patients however they can.
In the afternoon Linda spend time with patients and their families. She first met with about 12 patients in a “meet and greet” and listened to their hard stories. The patients conveyed to Linda their great appreciation for her visit. At 7.30pm it was time for Linda to give a public presentation to patients and parents/caregivers that lasted about an hour. About 25 people showed up. Her presentation had a great reception and interesting personal questions were asked in the question and answer session afterwards.
All in all, it was a full and very fulfilling day and Linda was touched by the warmhearted welcome of Celia, Phil, Craig and many others. Thank you to our Isle of Man ME / CFS friends for their invitation, splendid organization and hosting! Welcome to our Team OMF!
