ME Awareness Week:
  A nurse with ME – a poem by L Mair Jones

As we acknowledge the contribution of nurses on International Nurses Day, we remember that nurses too can be confined to home with a virus.

You have always been there
– my nurse
my night nurse, my day nurse
my named nurse,

you have always been with me
as I lay for hours
despondent,
indifferent,
drifting along with the radio waves,

you reached for the remedies,
you decided on plans of intention,
you brought along the nutrients
and the refreshments,

you spent hours wondering
what was this illness
that had no medical feature,
but all the symptoms of serious disability.

Now you stand back a little as walks become longer,
as life turns pleasant again.
Outings take place,
and occasional plans are made.

But you will never leave me,
because you are with me,
because you are me I am you,
I that I am,
I am my own nurse,
My nurse is me.

 What it is to nurse oneself,
my lifetime career.

 L Mair Jones, 1997, Mid Wales

Mair was a nurse for 15 years before ME forced her to leave the NHS. Gradually her health improved until she was able to enjoy walking again. She is now a yoga teacher (on Zoom at the moment) teaching Gentle Years Yoga and Hatha Yoga with classes in Welsh and in English. jonesmair3@gmail.com