Red Leaves of Solidarity
Long Covid Awareness month landed at a time when the UK Covid-19 Inquiry is laying bare just how little attention was given to the long- term consequences of Covid infection for children and adults. Around 50% of people with Long Covid now meet the diagnostic criteria for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. I’ve previously written about my daughter being one of the many very severely affected.
A couple of ‘red leaves’ of solidarity this week from UK Green Party representatives:
Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, speaking candidly on his podcast, Bold Politics, about the need for more funding and to look at more steps for prevention to make sure there is proper ventilation in buildings. He articulated what many people with Long Covid and ME have often felt acutely:
“But it also feels like the decision makers very often, unless they’ve got someone in their family or they’ve been personally affected by it, there seems to be almost this psychological thing that ‘oh it won’t happen to me and that’s unfortunate for that group of people but we’re just going to get on’”.
He acknowledged that as ME and Long Covid are not in the public domain, they do not receive the recognition or funding they deserve.
On a recent visit to our town, and despite a packed schedule, Baroness Natalie Bennett, Green Party peer, took time to listen with compassion and care to my 16-year-old son telling her about his older sister being bedridden with very severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis following Covid-19 in 2021 and thanking her and Zack Polanski for speaking out for people affected.
Huge thanks to both Zack and Natalie for their solidarity with people with ME and Long Covid.
The Red Tree and ME is just one small creative effort to raise awareness of ME and find genuine hope. Its impact depends on the ripple effect - every share, conversation and act of solidarity helps our message reach further. We’re grateful to everyone who amplifies these voices, especially for the most severely affected who are too unwell to speak for themselves. Real hope for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Long Covid lies in better awareness and biomedical research.
We continue to raise funds for the research at the University of Edinburgh led by Professor Chris Ponting
