My Nominations for the First ME CFS FMS Blog Awards

After much mulling over this whole idea, this post finally sends out the first ME & CFS & FMS Blog Awards.  Their aim?  To reward diligent bloggers, and to help us all to seek out new and interesting blogs.  (More details below my nominations.)

Choosing the first blogs to send this award to was incredibly difficult - not least because I'm useless at bookmarking blogs I like!  So the 5 blogs I've chosen today are just a start... I'll use the excuse that I need to pace myself!!

So, I've kept back some amazing blogs (in my newly created list) for future nomination.  The blogs below are in no particular order....

My Nominations are:

Let's Do it For ME Blog: 

http://blog.ldifme.org/ 

The team at "Let's Do it for ME" have been fundraising for the charity Invest in ME and writing about the many different initiatives taken for the cause.  The blog has been running since 2011 and this post describes their campaign.  Amazing work, from amazing people for an amazing charity! 

Ramblings of a Fibro Fogged Mind:

http://ramblingsofafibrofoggedmind.wordpress.com/

First off, I just LOVE the name of this blog!  However if you take a read here, you will see the writings of some-one dedicated to furthering the cause of the downtrodden, and in particular those with Fibro.  I thought this post written for Fibro Awareness Day last year was particularly good.  She both describes living with Fibro, and some of the science behind current understanding of Fibro.

Barry's M.E. Blog:

http://barrysme.blogspot.co.uk/ 

This is a very new, but perceptive blog written by a young man suffering with ME.  This post on Deteriorating Friendships is likely to resonate with many ME and Fibro patients.  And it's not just this post, throughout his blog Barry shows clear insight into what it is like to live with a disabling illness like ME, at a time when the world just expects us all to keep going.

Crazy Purple Mama Blogspot: 

http://crazypurplemama.blogspot.co.uk/

 Well who wouldn't warm to the name of this blog?  And the warmth of the name is further reflected in the writing.  Here you'll find a mother coping with two daughters diagnosed with ME.  Yet the blog has an upbeat and quirky feel, that I can readily relate to.  Tanya writes a poignant post here about When it All Changed.  I think we all have a photo like the one featured here....

But You Don't Look Sick: 

http://but-you-dont-look-sick.blogspot.co.uk

This well established Fibro blog is packed full of sound advice and stories of life with Fibro.  I think her post, here, about coping with the inevitable flare-ups that come with an illness like Fibro, is very perceptive and probably should be recommended reading for new sufferers. There is also a call to action for all Fibro and ME patients - take a read here.


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ME & CFS & FMS BLOGGER AWARDS:

Awarded by bloggers, to other bloggers, to acknowledge outstanding endeavour in promoting awareness of Myalgic Enchephalomylitis (ME), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)  and/or Fibromyalgia (FMS).

The blogs receiving the awards do not need to be dedicated solely to ME, CFS or FMS, but they should contain at least one post that has helped to increase awareness.

It is hoped that these Awards will increase blog readerships and also encourage networking between ME & CFS & FMS bloggers themselves.  No matter the title of our diagnosis, patients of these conditions all suffer from a frustrating state of health that is poorly recognised by most of society.

HOW IT WORKS:

1,   On receiving the ME & CFS & FMS BLOGGER AWARD, you should be directed to a post that describes why you (and others) have been given this award.  The page will also include this set of instructions and the two award images.

2. Please note, you do not need accept the award.  The aim of the awards is about recognition and a bit of fun, NOT extra work! Please do not feel pressured to participate.

3. To claim your award:

a) Create a new post on your blog, in which you thank the individual who gave you the award  (remember to include a link back to their blog).  You can then copy the images to your blog post and/or side bar as you wish.

You may need to click on the image and download it, before putting it into your own post.

Below is the code for adding the small image as a link in your blog side bar if you wish to do so:

<a href="
http://sallyjustme.blogspot.com/2014/02/launching-me-cfs-fms-blogger-awards.html
" target="blank">
<img src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i4/salpublicphotos/BloggerBadge_zps26d28ded.png"/>
</a>

b) List three to ten blogs that you would like to recommend, giving a brief description of why you think each one is special.  A couple of lines is fine, but be sure to include a link to each blog you name (or specific page if you prefer) so that others are encouraged to visit.

c) Copy and paste these instructions into your post. Copy from the first *** above, to the last *** below to ensure that every thing is included. (Add the images separately if they don't copy automatically. Control-Shift-V also removes crazy formatting during pasting if that is a problem. ;) )

d) Alert your chosen blog owners to their awards by making a comment on the most recent post of their blogs.  The comment could simply read:
"Congratulations, I have nominated your blog to receive an ME & CFS & FMS BLOGGER AWARD.  Please visit <insert link to the post you have just created> to collect your Award"

3. Hopefully these awards will spread far and wide.  I would love to keep track of where the awards end up, so I would be very grateful if participants would also copy their list of awards into a comment beneath this post:
http://sallyjustme.blogspot.com/2014/02/launching-me-cfs-fms-blogger-awards.html.
I hope that collecting all the recommendations in one place will help each of us to find and explore new blogs.

THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING.

Sally
http://sallyjustme.blogspot.co.uk/


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