Severe ME Day is on 8 August, and this year ANZMES is sharing Wiremu’s story — a young man who kept pushing through post-viral illness because that’s what he was told to do. He got sicker and sicker until he became bedbound. His story shows what can happen when severe ME isn’t recognised early. About 1 in 4 people with ME are so unwell they can’t leave their homes, and many go unseen by the health system entirely.
ANZMES is asking for real change: proper funding for ME care, mandatory training for health professionals, and ME/CFS to be formally recognised in disability support policy. They’re also urging doctors to understand post-exertional malaise, stop recommending harmful “push through it” advice like graded exercise therapy, and believe their patients. You can help by sharing this message, following ANZMES on social media with #SevereMEDay, or writing to your local MP.
