A lot of people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS) feel like they’ve run a marathon after picking up a few groceries, so now imagine working against ME/CFS, complete with post-exertional malaise, to make it where only the finest athletes even dream of getting - to the Olympic Games.

Somehow, 2 athletes with ME/CFS have set their sights on Olympic Gold this year. Greco-Roman wrestler Ari Taub, from Canada, already has secured his spot. He was diagnosed about 8 years ago. Flatwater canoeist and former Olympian Anna Hemmings still has a few hurdles to clear, but 5 years after her diagnosis she’s hoping to lead the British team to victory.

Certainly, not everyone with ME/CFS can hope for this type of recovery. It has to help a lot that Taub and Hemmings were both world-class athletes before they got sick. Still, to think that they were able to get back to that is amazing and encouraging. If they can regain their former abilities, maybe the rest of us can at least make progress. Also, perhaps their presence in Beijing will help bring much-needed attention and awareness to the disease.

• Read more about Ari Taub’s long, winding journey to the Olympic Games.
• Find out how Anna Hemmings says she was able to overcome ME/CFS.

Do stories like these give you hope? Do they make you worry that other people will expect this type of miraculous recovery in you? Share your comments here or in About.com’s Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome forum (look under Newsletter & Blog Topics.)

Adrienne Dellwo

See more posts from this blog