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Good morning.
We didn’t notice what was going on at first. It was only when I saw my son swimming that summer, and noticed how thin he was, that I realised something was wrong. It all began to add up then – the loss of confidence, the poor sleeping, the panic attacks, the loss of concentration and the lack of appetite. 
Everything came to a head with the new term at school. He lasted less than a week before he crashed out and retired to his bed, complaining of headaches and pain in all his joints. When we tried to talk to him about how he felt we could see his deep sense of hopelessness and anxiety. 
It was in the early stages of all this, when the words Chronic Fatigue Syndrome hardly meant anything to us, that one of the cats intervened. Every morning, after breakfast, she went to his room and climbed up onto his bed. That took some doing. He had a cabin bed, with the mattress at head height, and the cat had to find a route up the furniture.
Once in place she would stay with him for as long as it took him to emerge. Some days that might not be until very late afternoon. For weeks on end he hardly had enough energy to come downstairs, leave alone get dressed, or sit at table. Still, every day without fail, she kept him company.  Slowly, bit by bit, he began to recover. Ten months later he finally made it back into school.
On this International Chronic Fatigue Awareness Day,we place before Godall those who have lost their strength and confidence,the people who love and care for them,and the small steps they will make todayto get back on their feet.
Amen