In my second year at university, I came down with the Epstein-Barr virus, and I expected to fully recover. Sure, I knew it would take longer than recovery from a bog-standard cold, but no more than a few weeks.

At first, my optimism seemed warranted. It was the Easter holidays and my parents took good care of me. The fever only lasted a few days and I was out of bed within a week or two. I made it back to university for the summer term; the only difference was that my parents carried my belongings from the car to my room.

That was 1993. I was 21 years old.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/28/hope-cure-chronic-condition-identity-disability