They often linger for years. At its worst, people are suffering tremendously. In complaining that my hair has been thinning, I say that my hair was leaking. I walk along the garlic driveway instead of the gravel driveway. My sunglasses are storm catchers.
Many patients feel bitter about the trivialization of their suffering.
CFS patients of the past, Nightingale's or Darwin's disease. Bad as it is, however, chronic fatigue syndrome isn't fatal, except when despair leads to suicide. In a well-publicized case last August, a Michigan woman bedridden with CFS and a painful, related condition called fibromyalgia became the 35th person to commit suicide with the help of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. In the aftermath, medical experts underscored the serious nature of CFS, while still offering hope for medical relief. Recovery is slow and uncertain for many clients.