3:01pm Monday 8th March 2010
By David Mills
IN a desperate attempt to help their seriously ill mother, four youngsters are calling on News Shopper readers to help buy her the perfect Mother’s Day present.
Corrienne Strong, who suffers from ME, has been sleeping in a hammock in her back garden for six years because of breathing difficulties caused by chronic fatigue she experiences in her muscles.
The 45-year-old, of Kingsley Avenue, Dartford, claims doctors also say she has symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
She says she finds it easier to breathe outdoors and sleeping inside feels “suffocating” and “like having a pillow on your face”.
Having endured awful winter weather including snow and heavy rain, her family want to raise money for a conservatory where she can sleep more comfortably under permanent shelter and open doors and windows to allow air in.
Since the heavy snow in February last year where her friend had to dig her out using a shovel, she had a gazebo put up which is now on the point of collapse following further bad weather.
Mrs Strong’s condition means she suffers chest infections and has to wear callipers, a type of leg brace to help her walk.
Lately she has started to experience eye bleeding which she says her doctor is still trying to diagnose.
The mum-of-four said: “A conservatory where I could be kept safe and dry and still be able to grab oxygen by leaving doors open would be less stressful for the kids as they don’t want anything to happen to me, they’ve seen so much already.
“Every day they’ve been losing bit by bit of the mother they love, but conservatories cost the earth and my pocket is totally moth eaten.”
“It’d be a dream come true.”
Mrs Strong believes her illness is a result of sexual abuse she suffered earlier in her life which drove her to the brink of suicide.
She said: “(Doctors) think my body’s fighting itself from within.
“I have to lean on things when walking, I can’t put my feet straight.
“I seem to literally run out of air.
“I cocoon myself in my quilt to keep warm.
“At night time the oxygen is purer, when you get that cold you go to sleep, my body reacts better.”
In the letter from her children Donovan, 11, Kevin, 18, Aaron, 19 and Lisa, 20, it says: “We want to make a conservatory-cum-bedroom for her where she can open the door and be able to breathe better but at the same time be dry.
“We’ve watched her through the window where she was covered in snow like a human snowman.”
They want to raise £2,000 and are asking readers to donate £1 each in the hope 2,000 people will come forward.
To make a donation call the newsroom on 01689 885711.
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