This year Janet Smart came up with the amazing idea of encouraging us all to wear black dresses to raise awareness for those suffering in darkened rooms with Severe ME.
The campaign started on FaceBook (where else) and an amazing Black Dress image was soon produced by Wendy Boulitier.
Janet started to contact retail outlets and a very positive response was generated over the idea of promoting Black Dress sales for August 8th.
The idea then started to take off, and so the BLACK DRESS SELFIE campaign developed.
The artwork was quickly expanded to become an info-graphic, and the concept started to gain momentum.
Click on image to magnify.
The poster explains:
8th August is Sophia Mirza’s birth date
Sophia died from severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis at the age of 32
This year would have been Sophia’s 41st birthday.
BLACK DRESS SELFIES
Please promote Black Dress Day by posting your selfie on social
media along with this image. More information at:
http://sallyjustme.blogspot.com/2014/08/blackdress.html
Perhaps you could help spread the Black Dress Selfie meme by nominating 3 friends to do one too?
SEVERE ME is widely misunderstood.
Many individuals with "mild" or "moderate" ME are able to appear almost "well" for short spells. This gives the general public the notion that ME is not at all serious!
However for 25% of ME sufferers this disease is "severe" and the dream of any normality is cruelly snatched away. Yet the suffering of these individuals goes largely un-noticed and un-recognised.
No one seems to believe that illness of this intensity can really last so long.
Please help promote this awareness campaign, by sharing this blog post, the poster image above and/or by having a bit of fun with publishing your Black Dress Selfies!
And if any of you wish to share your photos here as well as with your friends, please send your selfies to keelatoo@live.co.uk or contact me via FB or Twitter. Black dress images at the link below:
Thank you!
******
After Notes:
Severe ME Awareness Day - 8th August was launched by the 25% ME Support Group. 25% ME Support Group website
25% ME Support Group - Severe ME Day 2014
To find out more about Sophia Mirza and the tragedy of her death,
see the Invest in ME website:
The Story of Sophia and M.E.
and watch this video:
The Death of Sophia Mirza
Stonebird: The Lived Experience of Severe ME
Living Death Disease??
*Correction now made to poster: This year would have been Sophia's 41st Birthday not her 40th as was first said - apologies.
