Introduction

 

Businesses are part of the world and businesses should promote advocacy. Ms. Treves is a passionate advocate of ME/CFS. The following is an essay written in 2007 when Ms. Treves served as a national spokesperson for CFS.

 

Reflections from 2007

 

Since falling ill with CFS at the end of 1993, Vivian R Treves has been actively involved

in raising money for and raising awareness of CFS. Below is a personal message from

Vivian.

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"I am taking my illness with me to the sea

Yes it is coming on vacation too

And together we will sit on the shore

And contemplate the waves

And listen to the constant lapping of the water

And wonder about the tides

And I will wish

Will wish

That I could take this illness

And put it in a bottle

And seal it

And send it off shore

Never to be heard from again"

Excerpt from “In the Shadow of the Eclipse”, A Collection of Poems by Vivian R. Treves

 

Vivian R Treves, CFS Activist

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I have been suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since the fall of 1993. When I fell

ill, my life, as I knew it changed forever. There were many long years of pain and slow

recovery. I still suffer from frequent relapses but I am able to work intermittently. Millions

of people around the world have been diagnosed with CFS. Over the years, I have told my

story in print and on television in Italy to raise awareness in that country. I also assisted

director/producer, Kim Snyder in her efforts to make her moving film about the illness,

entitled “I Remember Me”.

In the winter of 2006, the CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome)

Association of America invited me to be a national spokesperson in its campaign: “Spark!

The Campaign to Ignite CFS Awareness”.

They asked me to be part of a photo exhibit entitled “Faces of Chronic Fatigue

Syndrome”. I accepted and was photographed along with seven other patients and two

doctors for the exhibit. The exhibit is touring the country and continues to be seen by

millions of people. As spokespeople, we have been speaking to the press and telling our

stories. Hopefully we will make a difference.

 

 

 

 

 

George Lange

Photo Shoot

for CFS

National

Campaign

 

 

 

 

 

 

A launch event and press conference was held in Washington, D.C. on November 3rd,

2006. There are many elements to the campaign including print ads, on line banner ads,

public service announcements, etc. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is funding the

$6 million campaign. It is the first national CFS awareness campaign in the history of the

illness. Since the campaign began the CFIDS Association has generated hundreds of news

stories about CFS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the fall of 2007, I published a colection of poems entitled "In the Shadow of the Eclipse." The poems were written many years ago during the critical years of my life with CFS. A portion of the proceeds will be donated for research and raising awareness of CFS. You may now purchase it online at http://iuniverse.com, http://amazon.com or http://barnesandnoble.com.

 

I urge you to support me in this effort and follow our campaign at www.solvecfs.org/HOPE. Thank you for your attention.

 

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"We live in the shadow of the eclipse

Which has darkened our lives

And we wonder when it will move on

Allowing the night to shine once again in our lives

The eclipse has altered our state

Turning us into shadow people

It has bought us pain and sorrow and sadness

We have had to charge up our inner brightness

To bring about the daily healing

We need to survive

 

The good thing about eclipses

Is that they move on

And then we shall be whole again"

 

Excerpt from "In the Shadow of the Eclipse", A Collection of Poems by Vivian R. Treves