Rockingham group helping to unmask fibromyalgia

Just getting out of bed in the morning can be a painful and arduous experience for Rockingham woman Michelle Greenwood thanks to a rare, insidious, and often misunderstood condition.

Ms Greenwood has fibromyalgia, a musculoskeletal condition, which is often misdiagnosed, with widespread pain and fatigue the most common of its 250 symptoms.

Her experience led to her starting a support group to provide comfort and information to other women in the region living with the condition.

“With the condition you become isolated ... just to get out of bed it is so hard ... you feel alone,’ she said.

“I started the group because I had hit rock bottom and I thought there must be others feeling the same.

“Putting my story out there was really hard but the amount of people I’ve had messages from has been amazing.”

In a bid to shine a light on fibromyalgia, a masquerade ball will be held next weekend to raise awareness and money for local people battling the affliction.

The black-tie charity event hopes to unmask fibromyalgia to the wider community and also raise much needed funds for Rockingham-based Fibro and Us — Fibromyalgia Support Group.

“The ball is about getting the message of fibromyalgia into the wider community and to educate them,” Ms Greenwood said.

The group also runs free general wellbeing workshops with massage and fitness-based sessions to make life slightly more comfortable for people with fibromyalgia.

The third annual masquerade ball will be held on Saturday, October 12, from 6pm at the Leisure Inn in Rockingham. Tickets include a three-course meal and champagne or beer on arrival.

To book click here.