“Fantastic job, what an outstanding webpage. I have already read 7 stories, and it is very exciting to have this ‘gift’ at the end of the career! Finally, I get a tool for my practice, as well as beginning to get a language for the feeling I’ve been having for decades”.
Göran Sjønell
Swedish paediatrician and specialist in general practice
Former president of WONCA, a global network for general practice
“We can learn a lot from these stories about recovery from CFS – look forward to more”.
Rona Moss-Morris, Professor of Psychology as Applied to Medicine, Head of Health Psychology, King’s College, London, UK.
“The organisation Recovery Norway gives a voice to patients who – in different ways – have completely recovered from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME). This is very important: CFS/ME is often seen as a hopeless condition, something that increases the burden on patients and their families. The fact that there is actually good hope of full recovery is therefore very important to get across to other CFS/ME sufferers, to health professionals, to health government agencies and politicians, and to the general public. In addition, the stories of the Recovery Norge members are very interesting from a scientific perspective, and can serve as a basis for future research projects on the strange mechanisms of CFS/ME.”
Vegard Bruun Bratholm Wyller
Professor, Institute for Clinical medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
Consultant doctor, Clinic for Children and adolescents, Akershus university Hospital, Norway.
«I had one patient in my clinic who suffered from ME. Came to me with something else. But questioned what had caused him/her to now become better with regard to ME, it was the page Recovery Norway. It was motivation, tips and hope from other people’s stories. So, it is a fine resource Recovery Norway has created”.
Vegard Ølstørn
physiotherapist, specialist in manual therapy (2019)
“Recovery Norway contributed to a powerful and useful segment in a 2018 training course for Norwegian general practitioners, where one of the topics was CFS/ME. I strongly urge inviting them to courses for health professionals!”.
Aase Aamland
Medical doctor, Specialist in general practice (family medicine), PhD.
Researcher at Uni Research Health, General Practice Research Unit, Bergen, Norway
“In a world where the media and some organisations monomaniacally persist in their descriptions of the horrible consequences of an illness, it is important that patients that have experienced recovery have a forum in which to put forward that this negative depiction is not necessarily correct. Namely that there is both hope and possibilities for long-term improvement. Recovery Norway is an example of such a positive voice for which we have great need”.
Ulrik Fredrik Malt
Prof.dr.med.
“Congratulations and thanks to Recovery Norway! As a psychologist at my department puts it: I have to bathe in these stories from time to time. The message must seep well in and when you are saturated with Recovery stories, you are ready to fight with the patients against doubt and other strong Budskapet må trekke godt inn og når du er mettet med Recovery-historier står du rustet til å kjempe med pasientene mot tvil og andre sterke opposing forces».
Anne Karen Bakken
Consultant doctor, head of the Child-and adolescent department, St.Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
«The stories Recovery Norway has gathered here are very important. Stories that are patently incredible, stories that show that, for some, possible to become better from a health situation, something many say is impossible. This is not to argue that everybody can recover, I don’t think we have any grounds for saying that, but that they can take the chance and try – that is a spirit that is important to keep. The stories gathered by Recovery Norway are a manifestation that such hope can be realistic.
Sigurd Mikkelsen
Manual therapist, physiotherapist (2019).
“Even though treatment of CFS/ME is not within the sphere of responsibilities of NAV (Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration), loss of function due to the illness is highly visible in the NAV system. The powerlessness of being unable to do anything but observe the suffering, is a burden for many NAV employees. NAV can and should contribute to spreading the testimonials from Recovery Norway to general practitioners”.
Georg Espolin Johnson
Medical doctor in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration
“Congratulations – good work! It is fantastic to read all the good stories about people who have recovered from, for example, CFS/ME .
Signe Flottorp
Researcher at The Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Professor at the Institute for Health Leadership and Health economics, University of Oslo, Norway
Former general practitioner
“I work with fatigued adolescents. My perception is that the agenda of Recovery Norway is to make it known that it is possible to get well. This is undercommunicated. Recovery does a great job in highlighting the positive stories, and this is important as it is not possible to succeed using cognitive therapy without believing that it is worth trying. It is also true that not everybody succeed, and that is important to know, but from my point of view the whole justification of Recovery Norway is that the whole public debate has been biased is such a way that we have seldom heard from those who have recovered. I think that these stories are important, and Recovery deserves praise for the job they do”.
Tomas Nordheim Alme, paediatrician at Akershus University Hospital, Norway
“I would like to say that, I see what you do in Recovery Norway as very important and inspiring, and I hope that research will be done and that the world in the very near future can offer effective, evidence-based methods for ME/CFS”.
Swedish health professional
(who prefers anonymity due to the tension surrounding this issue)
“Would just like to thank you for a great initiative. When evidence is complicated, why not start at the opposite end? Thank you for braving the storm. I believe this initiative also supports the clinicians who are braving it too”.
Anonymous medical doctor
.
