Welcome!

I have had ME/CFS since May, 2006 when I had a sudden onset of the disease following a bout of stomach flu. My symptoms have changed considerably during the course of my illness. I consider myself lucky in that my "crashes", while they now occur almost daily, most often only last just a few hours. During these periods I completely loose my physical and cognitive abilities and can only lie down and wait for the episode to pass.

What little energy I possess is very easily exhausted. Virtually any physical exertion or mental stress will trigger a reaction which, if it does not trigger a total crash, will cause my speech to become slurred and I will have difficulty finding and vocalizing words. I will also become very "wobbly" on my feet and then need a cane to get around.

One can get some idea of the impact of my affliction with ME/CFS in one of my "wobbly" periods HERE.

Like almost everyone else with ME/CFS, I struggled with physicians and numerous other medical providers who insisted that "it was all in my head" for over two years before I was fortunate enough to be able to see Dr. Benjamin Natelson, M.D.

Dr. Natelson has guided me towards a significant reduction in my symptoms and greater optimism about my future prospects. If you have not yet done so, please read his book Your Symptoms are Real. You can buy it HERE for as little as $1.31.

A fortuitous meeting with Dr. Herbert Hyman, M.D. in the summer of 2008 got me thinking about the possibility of developing a website. Subsequent meetings with him as well as Marly Silverman of P.A.N.D.O.R.A. and Dr. Kenneth Friedman of the University of New Jersey School of Medicine led me to the development of cfsKnowledgeCenter.com and the ME-CFSCommunity. Each of these three continue to serve on the Board of Advisors of cfsKnowledgeCenter, Inc., a Florida Not for Profit 501 c3 corporation.

My investment in this work has reached well into five figures and I have no more to give. Little can be done now without your assistance. There is no benefactor or foundation supporting us. Our ability to survive now rests with you and the other members of the community.

I invite you to think about the importance of this site to you and ask that you please consider supporting it with a donation commensurate to its value to you. A click on the icon below and a willingness to part with a few dollars, euros or pounds sterling to help yourself and others is all it takes.

Lastly, please let us know what you like, or dislike, about the site as well as any ideas you might have for its development. You can do so by emailing your comments and suggestions to: editorial@cfsKnowledgeCenter.com

I keep thinking about when I will be well enough to go back to fly fishing . . .