Woman who was told her constant exhaustion was A-level stress discovers debilitating chronic illness
25.11.2023 - 12:05
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Elizabeth Hope at 18 years old was initially told by doctors that her constant tiredness was due to stress from her A-level exams and depression. However, she later found out she had ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition that makes even simple tasks very tiring.
Elizabeth, who used to fall asleep at 5pm every day while studying for her A-levels, had dreams of going to university and becoming a teacher. But the illness made it so hard for her to even walk that she decided to start using a wheelchair and gave up on her university plans.
Feeling lonely and unsure, Elizabeth's mum suggested she try a wheelchair dance class in Birmingham. Despite her initial hesitation, this turned out to be one of the best decisions she ever made.
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Elizabeth, 27, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, learned to manage her energy levels and "fell in love with dance", and has gone on to perform in her wheelchair at the 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and two cheerleading world championships.
"I'm a teacher but not in the way I imagined," she told PA Real Life.
"I think for people with disabilities, it's not like you can do whatever you want, because it's not true, but you can do things in a different way."
"But I love dancing and being able to share my passion with other people is just, yes, it's really cool".
Elizabeth was studying for her A-levels in 2014 and looking forward to a career in teaching when she began getting headaches and feeling extremely tired.
At first it was thought she was just feeling anxious about her exams and doctors suggested