Elevate

A support group for people with ME, CFS & post viral conditions

Disability Pride Photographic Exhibition

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This is being organised by Norwich Independent Living Group. The exhibition will be at the Millennium Library in the Forum from Sunday 16th September – day of the Norfolk Disability Pride event. The exhibition will run for 2 weeks then the photographs will be archived for future generations to see how we live today.

Disability Pride Photography Exhibition – PDF

Disability Pride Photography Exhibition – Word Doc

For more info about the Norfolk Disability Pride event:

equallives.org.uk/get-involved/disability-pride/

www.facebook.com/norfolkdisabilitypride/

 

Award Winning Film ‘Unrest’

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Unrest – Screening Norwich 24th Oct

Award winning film ‘Unrest’ is coming to Norwich at Cinema City Tues 24th Oct 6:15pm and will be followed by a Q&A panel with local UEA scientists, and politicians may be present. The film will also be screening at parliament. The filmmakers hope it will raise awareness and encourage governments to fund more biomedical research.

 

Cinema Tickets – click here

Home Streaming tickets

Click here

If you’re housebound or not able to make it to Norwich you can watch it at home by purchasing a digital streaming ticket.  There will also be a DVD available later on.

 

Unrest Website 

About the Film:

Jennifer Brea was a Harvard PhD who got ME following a severe virus whilst she was studying. Her husband is Omar Wassow, a Princeton Professor who was also involved in Obama’s rise to power- he also helped her film her experiences and encouraged her to lobby for change on this terrible disease. Jennifer’s feature-length documentary is now screening at select cinemas worldwide and is already winning awards at International Film Festivals. It will be screening in Parliament in a couple of weeks time and it is having it’s official UK launch next week at Mondrian, Southbank where celebrities with ME, specialists, politicians and charity leaders will all be present.

In short: ME is now finally having its moment in the spotlight because of this movie and we need YOUR help. Of course, it goes without saying that some people with ME will not be able to attend the screenings- but part of Jennifer’s distribution strategy is to ensure that those bedbound/ house bound with ME can still access it. So if they buy tickets for the Norwich screening they will then be able to live stream it at the same time as everyone else is watching the movie!

Here is Jen’s TED talk which was the most-watched TED Talk of 2016- with more than 1 million hits and climbing:

Here are two different links giving info about the Norwich screening of Unrest at Cinema City on Tuesday 24th at 6.15pm:

http://see.unrest.film/showtimes/

https://www.usheru.com/cinema-listings/…/cinema-city-norwich

Home Streaming tickets

Possible Norwich Screening of ME Film ‘Unrest’

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I recommend checking out and supporting this award winning film about ME ‘Unrest’

There is a form below to help get it screened in Norwich.

http://www.unrest.film/

There is a form that you can fill in which will increase the chances of it being screened in Norwich if you think you might be well enough to go to the screening.

Fill in Form

From the website:

WHAT IF I AM HOMEBOUND AND CAN’T SEE THE FILM AT A FESTIVAL, IN A THEATER, OR AT A COMMUNITY SCREENING?

During our community screenings tour, we plan to do a *limited* number of events where members of the local community who are homebound due to ME or other disabilities will be able to watch the film from home alongside theater-going audiences and participate in Q&A’s. The film will eventually be more widely available to homebound audiences via DVD and online – we just don’t yet know the details of how or when. In the meantime, if you are homebound, you can help raise awareness by encouraging your friends, family and allies to see the film when it comes to their town, at a festival or in theaters.

ME/CFS Researchers in Norwich

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An event held in Norwich in January 2017 gave the public a chance to hear about some of the biomedical research being undertaken on  ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis).

The event was hosted by IFR and Invest in ME Research, a charity promoting biomedical research and education into ME, which is aiming to establish a UK centre of excellence, to improve ME diagnosis and coordinate research into treatments and cures.

The talks were introduced by Dr Ian Gibson, former MP for Norwich North and from the Invest in ME Research Advisory Board.

Speakers (click to jump to their talks)

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic disease causing long-term health problems, characterised by severe exhaustion, as well as pain and dysfunction of the brain, gut and immune system. ME/CFS has no effective treatments, and its causes still remain unknown

ME affects an estimated 250,000 in the UK needs high-quality biomedical research and international collaboration.

Rituximab

Dr Øystein Fluge, a senior consultant and oncologist at Haukeland University Hospital in Norway spoke about ground-breaking research he is leading on Rituximab. This drug has been used to treat leukaemia and lymphoma, as it targets B-cells, a type of blood cell. In 2004, Dr Fluge noticed that ME patients being treated for lymphoma with Rituximab also saw substantial improvements in their ME symptoms. Subsequently, pilot studies and a randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled study also showed positive results, with a large, multi-site Phase III clinical study now running.

Dr Fluge was visiting Norwich to discuss future collaborations over another Rituximab trial being carried out on the Norwich Research Park with Professor Simon Carding from the Institute of Food Research (IFR) and University of East Anglia. Professor Carding also introduced the audience to research in his own group, who are looking for causes and treatments for ME in the gut and its microbial communities. The Norwich Research Park is establishing itself as a hub for biomedical research into ME, in the UK and Europe and through international collaborations.

 

 

New North-Norfolk ME/CFS Support Group in Sheringham

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Steam train at Sheringham.

Steam train on the North Norfolk Railway (Poppyline).
  © Copyright Christine Matthews and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Joe and Kath Penfold, from Cley, have been attending Elevate occasionally for a few years and have decided they’d like to host a support group in Sheringham to help those in north-Norfolk. This will especially good for those who either cannot get to the Dereham or Norwich groups or find it very difficult to do so, but can manage a short distance. Hopefully the housebound will still be connected and supported in various ways.

Venue

The group will meet in St. Peter’s new hall which adjoins the main church building. Church Street, Sheringham NR26 8QS.

 

When

Saturdays are planned for the 3rd Sept, 1st Oct, and 5th Nov at 2:30 – 4:30pm.

 

There will be an attendance fee of £1 per person to cover the cost of the hall hire.

 

Mailing List

There is now a separate mailing list to keep you up-to-date with dates and news but you can be subscribed to both.

To signup to the north-Norfolk group mailing list please click on http://eepurl.com/b8oM4X

To signup to the mid-Norfolk group mailing list please click on http://eepurl.com/l07uv

The dates for both groups will be up on the calendar on the dates page of this website.

More Info

 
For detailed directions of enquiries about the north-Norfolk group please contact Kath 01263 740044 or katieann39@btinternet.com