Leaf by leaf, piece by piece

By Isaac Greer

My name is Isaac, I’m 15 years old and my older sister has very severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. She had COVID when she was 14 and has been really sick ever since. She is brilliant, funny, caring, clever, brave, determined and hopeful.

My family refuses to accept that things cannot be better for my sister than they are. Like many carers of people with ME, my parents continue to advocate for better care and treatment and to campaign for funding for research into ME.

Inspired by Anna Redshaw’s Blue Sunday for ME, I organised an online music concert for Blue Sunday for ME in 2024 to help raise awareness and to raise money for ME Research UK and Smile for ME. I had no idea how this would go but, with lots of help from some amazing musicians, we raised £1,401. This year, I organised my second concert and we managed to raise even more. If you'd like to watch either of these concerts, they are free to access here.

I was really encouraged to hear that someone the same age as me, whose sister also has ME, watched the first Blue Sunday for ME concert and was inspired to use his skills and hobbies to raise money for ME Research UK. Please read about Nathan’s fundraiser here and support if you are able.

I recently built a new Lego set which immediately reminded me of The Red Tree and ME - One Red Leaf at a Time project. I really enjoyed reading the messages of hope from the scientists who shared their red leaves at the start of the year. Leaf by leaf, piece by piece, I hope we can soon see the end of this horrible disease.