Beth
Part 1 of 3

Beth is donating her 34th birthday to
SolveCFS and asks friends and
family to make a donation to her
favorite cause on Facebook. I’ve
been ill for 7 years now and don’t
know where I’d be without your support.
Love, Beth  

Basic Information_______________________________________________

Sex: Female
Birthday: October 15
Hometown: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
Relationship Status: Married to Michael

Personal Information____________________________________________

Activities:
Keeping up with friends and family on Facebook. Reading home decor magazines, especially Martha Stewart Living. I used to sew and make drapery and window treatments. I can’t handle big projects anymore, but I still love to play with the fabrics and trims on smaller projects. I am helping my sister decorate a dollhouse for my niece.

Favorite Music:
James Taylor, Sarah McLaughlan, Alicia Keyes, Justin Timberlake

Favorite TV Shows:
A Baby Story, Say Yes to the Dress, Top Design, Deserving Design, Design Star, Trading Spaces reruns, and other home decorating shows. Martha, Oprah and Ellen. Sunday football with my husband.

Favorite Movies:
Splash, Mystic Pizza, Nights in Rodanthe, Sleepless in Seattle

Favorite Book:
Eat, Pray, Love; Three Cups of Tea (I can’t read books well any more; I have
trouble remembering what I’ve read, so shorter articles are better for me.)

Favorite Quotations:
“There will always be dreams grander or humbler than your own,
but there will never be a dream exactly like your own.” (Linda Staten)

About Me:
I have had chronic fatigue syndrome for 7 years. At first I thought it was food poisoning or a stomach bug going around school. I’d get a little better, do too much and end up worse. I describe it as a yo-yo going down stairs. My health really crashed after having a minor fender bender in the school parking lot. My cognitive problems got worse and I couldn’t fall asleep at night, or stay asleep for longer than two hours. I’d wake up with a lot more pain in my joints and muscles. Headaches were also frequent, and the stomach problems continued. The more pain I was in, the more difficulty I had sleeping. I’m very fortunate that my doctor never doubted my symptoms and he has continued working with me every time something new pops up. I’ve had to make a lot of changes to my life to cope with CFS, but not as many as my wonderful husband, Michael, has had to make. We both want so much to have children, but until my health improves, I don’t have the energy to take care of an infant or a busy toddler. I pray for an effective treatment or a cure so we can start a family.

Education and Work

College: Bloomsburg University
Employer: At Home Fabrics
Position: Part-time cashier. I used to teach high school family and consumer science (aka home economics), but my career was cut short by CFS. Luckily I was able to keep this part-time job because of my understanding employers, although I can usually only work one weekday morning shift per week, when the store isn’t too busy.

Groups

Member of:
SolveCFS, Chronic Fatigue/M.E - Increase awareness & understanding!, Fans of ButYouDontLookSick.com, i am in my 30s and on facebook..........gotta problem with that? 

 

 

Beth is a composite character based on real patients’ stories, allowing us to describe a range of common experiences. Later parts of her story will be posted in the coming weeks. Please visit our site often for additions to this and other characters’ stories. We also regularly publish first-person accounts of living with CFS in our monthly enewsletter, CFIDSLink.