In hindsight, it seems I began to develop CFS at the end of 1990. In my final year of primary school at the time, I caught Glandular Fever (or something very similar) towards the end of the year. It lasted a couple of weeks, and once I was over it I was pretty much back to normal. During ballet lessons however, my teachers and I noticed my lack of stamina and frequent muscle tiredness.

During 1991, my first year of high school, I caught many viruses and often had the '24 hour flu' for a week or more. The disruption to my schooling was significant but I managed to catch up enough to pass exams at the end of the year with good marks, and even win some awards. In between viruses that year I took a lot longer to recover, and often went to school not 100% well.

In 1992 I changed high schools. I attended 3 days at my new school before crashing severely. I was sick for 6 months with dizziness, mild but constant fatigue, cognitive problems and many viral symptoms that came and went with each illness.

From 1993 to the present my recollection of time and dates is hazy (yes - a symptom). In short: I made it back to school, intermittently, for the remainder of 1992. 1993 started quite well (after the Christmas break and my holidays in different environs) but when I was sick during that period I often missed more than 2 weeks at a time. As the volume of work in each grade escalated, 'catching up' (read: learning large amounts of work rapidly, from a friend's book, by yourself) became increasingly difficult. In 1994 I was once again away for the first 6 months of the year, and, Year 10 being the year of the School Certificate (a government exam) here in New South Wales, my school decided I couldn't possibly learn the work in time to complete the grade that year. Hence I left high school for the remainder of the year, and caught up with missed Years 9 and 10 work via Distance Education, the NSW schooling correspondence course. In comparison to hurriedly copying out classmates' notes, correspondence lessons were a godsend! Without the physical stress of travelling to and from school, not to mention the rigours of actually being there, my health began to improve. By the end of that year I was capable of taking a 15 minute walk each morning, throw a basketball around for a while and comfortably complete schoolwork in the time allotted. So, I headed back to school the next year.

My 1995 schooling began well enough, and I coped comparatively well with travelling long distances again and adjusting to a new group of class members. Things came undone in my second term when I began to come down with viruses for prolonged periods. I did finish the grade, albeit missing the entire 4th term due to illness.

In 1996 I ploughed back to school for Year 11 and the start of my two HSC (Higher School Certificate, another government exam) years. I lasted less than a week. After 6 weeks of illness I, my family and my school agreed the situation wasn't working for me. I moved back to the Distance Education correspondence course and for the first 4 - 5 weeks this worked well. The onset of winter heralded a battery of viruses, seguing into one another and calling my studies to a halt. The combination of starting the year late, and missing so much work, left me far behind in my work.

Early 1997 was un-inspiring, health-wise, but I managed to keep up with life at my pace and with no lengthy interruptions. I enrolled in the HSC Pathways course, which allows me to complete the HSC in up to 6 years, and did this through the Open Training and Education Network (OTEN), a more 'adult' correspondence course. I completed Ancient History, the first subject I've finished in two years, so that was very encouraging.

In 1998 I signed up for English and Geography, but winter was not a great season as far as symptoms went, and I fell behind in my work. I only got halfway through the Geography course, but I did manage to complete English.

In 1999 I graduated to year 12 work, and I studied advanced English and Ancient History. I enjoy these subjects very much but found all the essays they required tough going; the length of sustained concentration required to write a good essay can be beyond me when I have an infection of any kind. I decided to postpone the Higher School Certificate exams until next year, and concentrated on doing the basic schoolwork. My most troubling symptoms during 1999 were an upset sleeping pattern, constant exhaustion, and brainfog.

By the end of 1999 the year 12 work was unfinished, unfortunately, because I just wasn't well enough to sustain the concentration and intellectual effort required. This is tremendously disappointing as I've tried very hard over the past 3 years to graduate from high school, but such is life as a YPWC. To keep life interesting I attended a nine-week sewing course at the end of the year and have really enjoyed making clothes and accessories. Sewing is a very PWC-friendly activity because it can be done in fits and starts and doesn't require much in the way of brainpower. So the aquisition of this new skill has blunted the dissapointment of failing to complete year 12.

In 2000, I began a short story writing course by correspondence, which I enjoyed very much. The work load is small and there is a great deal I can read without having to commit it to memory, which is ideal considering brainfog. I have put some of my work up on another part of my site, short stories, if you're curious to find out what the feverish 4am brain of a PWC produces. The short story writing was complemented by an eight-week Sydney Univeristy Continuing Education course in Editing I took in from October to December. This was my first foray back to a classroom and I really enjoyed being able to learn with other students and discuss ideas - something I miss greatly studying alone by correspondence. The course was very informative, and I was able to keep up with the work (although two hours of concentration is my maximum endurance), so I enrolled in an English Literature course with the same insititution in 2001.

In 2001 I completed an English Literature course at Sydney University. During the course I had three essay-writing assignments, and a final exam in which I wrote four essays in three hours, so I'm feeling more sure of my ability to take notes, memorise information and stay awake and alert in class. I've also finished the short story writing course, and plan to submit some of my stories to writing publications soon. The extra energy the primobolan treatment has lent me means I've been able to attend weekend funk dance classes at the Sydney Dance Company, which is totally brilliant as dancing is something I missed a great deal while bedridden. Now, travelling in to the city and spending the day walking around, seeing a movie or having lunch with friends is easy and enjoyable. I treasure this new freedom. During the year I also began working part-time at my father's business, R.J. Walsh & Son, doing secretarial work on Thursdays and Fridays.

In 2002 I have begun a six-week beginner's Latin course with the Centre for Continuing Education at Sydney Uni. That, my job and the occasional dance class will definitely keep me busy until the university year begins in March. My energy levels are noticeably much-improved in the mornings; so much so that I can do a short stretch session when I wake up and not be any the worse for wear for the rest of the day. This would have been unthinkable during the past ten years of my life.

Lovely green sofa and orange chair supplied to me by Eric Henes.
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