Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1497281
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 APRIL 2023 ernment. While Rebecca cannot wear cos- metics, and certain clothing be- cause of allergic reactions, Ruth can put on a brave face, apply some lipstick and hit the street as a busi- ness to business retailer. "Looking well while living with a broken body is not easy and I can be easily misjudged by those who expect us to remain enclosed in our homes, dressed in pyjamas since in their head, being sick and disabled, means being constantly miserable and unable to perform," Ruth tells me. Yet Ruth feels like she is hanging on to "a resemblance of a normal life". Behind closed doors, Ruth, like Rebecca, spends hours resting to compensate for an hour's work. She recalls how a modern wom- an, returns home after work to cook, clean, play with her children while preparing for work the next day. But for Ruth, her disability means she returns home crushed by pain and fatigue. "We cry in pain wanting to scream our unlucky fate to the world, yet have to remain strong for our loved ones," she says. And if she wakes up sicker than the night before, Ruth, like other fibromyalgia sufferers, needs to think twice before calling in sick for fear she would be judged. "Looking normal is a curse… We need to work to sustain ourselves financially but we also need help to be able to work," Ruth says. This is why Ruth, Rebecca and other fibromyalgia and ME suf- ferers are seeking disability rec- ognition. Such recognition would help with therapy, medication, alternative solutions which would improve their lives. "We seek recognition because we deserve to be recognised because we too are citizens of this country," Ruth insists. Hers is a call to be giv- en a chance to live with dignity. Fibromyalgia services Service for fibromyalgia and ME sufferers is available from Floriana Health Centre. The clinic is open every Friday with clinic opening times alternating between 1pm to 5pm and 2pm to 6pm. Patients suffering from fibromyalgia are followed-up by gen- eral practitioners with special interest in fibromyalgia. Appointments to this clinic are referred only from Mater Dei's consultant rheumatologist. As it stands, Malta has 1,727 persons suffering from fibromy- algia, and eight suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis. Of these, 520 are provided with services from Floriana Health Centre's fibromyalgia clinic. Additionally, the government offers three medications — Am- itriptyline 10mg and 25mg tablets, Pregabalin 75mg, 150mg, and 300mg capsules, and Tramadol 50mg capsules — free of charge to those with fibromyalgia. Ruth DeBono heads the alliance representing fibromyalgia and ME sufferers "Looking well while living with a broken body is not easy and I can be easily misjudged by those who expect us to remain enclosed in our homes"