This piece from UK media outlet The Canary is the story of a severely ill young man living in the Natolin region of Warsaw named Karol. He has suffered from a disease called ME/CFS since childhood. His is a particularly severe form of the disease where he is confined to bed, dangerously underweight due to feeding difficulties, and is functionally blind.

While ME/CFS is recognized as a serious disease—and one which entitles sufferers to government support—in the UK, USA, Germany, and elsewhere, this is not the case yet in Poland. Without government assistance and too disabled to survive independently, some sufferers like Karol are stuck in horrible, abusive situations.

The article ends with his contact information if anyone has the desire to reach out to him.

If you’d like to know more about ME/CFS, its Wikipedia page is good.

by UpOnTheSun

4 comments

  1. The article sounds a bit suspect. “Encefalopatia mialgiczna” is not the only term for the disease and looking up the translation would tell him that Encephalomyelitis is known as “zapalenie mózgowo-rdzeniowe” and CFS is known as “zespół przewlekłegp zmęczenia”. ME/CFS has an ICD-10 code G93.32 and ICD-11 code 8E49 and Poland has accepted both ICD catalogues.

    … at this point I have to ask if this was written by AI.

  3. I don’t understand the snap judgement. None of you know for sure if this is a scam or not. On the chance that it’s not and there really is a person suffering behind all this, wouldn’t it be better to show at least a little kindness?

  4. Sorry for jumbledness and maybe some lack of cohesion. I’m actually dealing with some of the cognitive symptoms (brain fog) and a little PEM from the day besides just being tired.

    I’m US immigrant living in Poland hoping to stay permanently. I have ME/CFS (and FM Fibromyalgia–they’re often comorbid). I also have Post-Covid Syndrome and it was a mild case of breakthrough infection covid that triggered my CFS. All of that diagnosed in the US.
    Important to know that it can be milder than this guy has it, it’s much more common than people realize especially after covid pandemic. I think this is important because too many people gaslight themselves about having it. I know I did.

    here’s a general link from the US CDC – this is what my doctor sent me to when I was diagnosed with the CFS, and it was a good place to start. [http://cdc.gov/me-cfs/about/index.html](http://cdc.gov/me-cfs/about/index.html)

    Here’s one article about a Polish researcher working on ME/CFS and Post-Covid Syndrome. Some good info here
    [https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C94823%2Cpolish-researcher-proposes-treatment-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.html](https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C94823%2Cpolish-researcher-proposes-treatment-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.html)

    There’s a lot of different info in Poland, even if much of it is in scientific journals. But this means that many people are taking it seriously finally. EDIT: even if government is not

    I really feel for this guy. This is what scares me, because it could be my future. I do know what it’s like to be bedridden for several months, and it’s miserable existence. I hope I can never get a flare again although I know it’s not likely (and yes, for many people with mild, it happens in flares).

    I hope the Polish researchers can keep up their good work and find out more about this so that someday he, I, and others can live fuller lives more like our previous (healthier) ones.

    Also, in the US, while it technically qualifies for disability assistance, the US govt makes it extremely difficult for any disabled person to get assistance. So even being completely bedridden, it can take thousands of USD, a lawyer, and several years to get through the bureaucracy. This is well known fact inside the disability community.

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