Rose qualified as a State Enrolled Nurse (SEN) in 1971. Since recovering from M.E. Rose studied and was awarded the International Therapy Examination Certificate (ITEC) in Anatomy, Physiology and Massage. She then went on to study with the International Institute of Health and Holistic Therapy (IIHHT), where she gained qualifications in Aromatherapy and Relexology.
Rose is a Healer Practitioner with the Corinthian Church and Healing Association (CCHA) and she also practices Advanced Structured Hypnotherapy.
Rose's own experience of M.E. started when her daughter was seven and a half and her son was four and a half. Her story in her own words:
I lived in Budleigh Salterton, in Devon. The family ran a B&B for students from a local agricultural college and, on reflection, I'd been working on over-drive for some years.
I first felt unwell in September 1988. In March 1989 my health rapidly deteriorated. My GP could find nothing wrong. I collapsed twice, the second time my GP actually said that he thought it might be M.E. but no-one was really certain about how I should deal with it.
On one occassion I was admitted to hospital. The main symptoms were; exhaustion after very little exercise, breathlessness, painful joints, muscular pain and weakness, impaired vision, poor memory and concentration, tinnitus, rapid gut, sleeplessness, twitching muscles, pallor and allergies.
I employed help with the domestic chores. By this stage, I could hardly walk and spent my days lying on the sofa.
I bought the book "ME and How to Live With It" by Anne McIntyre which my husband read to me, due to my impaired vision. The book was extremely helpful and informative. It confirmed my numerous symptoms. I was determined to try and conquer this illness through the holistic approach.
I realised that the answer for me was through complementary therapies: aromatherapy, healing, acupuncture, homeopathy, visualisation, meditation, allergy tests and other therapies that were the right choice for me. On reflection, pacing myself was one of the most important factors. The first step was to accept the illness and to start loving myself - living every day the best I could.
There were bad days. I remember being unable to reach the phone before the caller rang off, crawling up the stairs at night, being unable to sit because of muscle pains in my derriere! Travelling was a nightmare and I was losing my speech. I was convinced that I was dying or going mad.
I seemed to be an onlooker whilst my family grew up. I was totally dependent on them for physical and emotional support. I didn't want them to think that I was ill, so I used to say "Mum is just tired, I will soon be better". Now I realise that this was an affirmation and helped a great deal. My illness had a slow grinding down effect on my husband. At the time I was unaware of the effect that my illness had on my children.
I prayed a lot! I thanked the divine powers that be that "what is meant to be will be" and I sought the purpose behind my illness. I developed spiritually during this period. Transforming from total frustration to being perfectly at peace and accepting the situation; being convinced that I was going to recover. My wonderful friends helped me through thick and thin as did my elderly parents. The love and understanding of my family assisted my recovery in a big way.
I'm convinced that being positive and viewing my illness as part of my life's journey helped me to cope. I believe that the body, mind and spirit are all interconnected, and that M.E. is a "dis-ease", a lack of harmony within and I had to seek the root cause. In retrospect it was the most enlightening time of my life.
I am now fully recovered and enjoy life to the full. I am more aware of what is going on around me, that the best things in life are free. I have returned to work as a qualified complementary therapist and continue to study in this field. You can recover from ME. I have.
I have now taken charge of my life - and what a wonderful life it is!
