‘Your world gets a little small:’ chronic fatigue driving Nanaimo woman into frigid ocean water

With support from her husband and friends, van Woensel has been able to raise over $2,300 through her daily swims which began on New Years Day and will continue through to her birthday on March 10.

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The money is being donated to the Open Medicine Foundation, who work to research complex chronic diseases.

Normally a very active person, 47-year-old van Woensel, who works as a lab tech with the biology department at VIU, said her issues started about a year ago when she was unable to feel rested even though she was sleeping 10-11 hours a night.

“A lot of it is not well understood, a lot of doctors would just say ‘oh you’re just a little bit overworked’ or it’s all a mental thing, but it’s not. It feels like having a flu but not with a fever. You just feel very lethargic.”

After consulting with specialists and receiving multiple negative COVID-19 tests, van Woensel’s family doctor finally said the words chronic fatigue syndrome and the pieces began to fall into place.

“You want to do so much in life and you’re not able to. Your limits are so fragile, it’s hard to know when you are overstepping your limits and then you have to pay it back. That’s called the post-exertion malaise.”

She said it took her about six weeks to get back to normal the last time she over-exerted herself.

“Your world gets a little small when you can only walk 100 metres and you feel empty. It’s like being a battery that’s in orange and sometimes it’s in the red. It’s really hard to get recharged.”

No treatments, specific testing or cure exists for chronic fatigue syndrome so sufferers turn to awareness to help others.

van Woensel said more attention is being brought to the condition as it has similar symptoms to those suffering from the long-term effects of COVID-19.

Around 77,000 people in B.C. and 500,000 people nation wide are diagnosed with the syndrome.

To read more about van Woensel you can go to her donation or Facebook page.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow