After being diagnosed with ME Viki now offers an alternative therapy to other sufferers

Viki Clarke, 44, was forced to leave her job as a support worker after her conditions of ME and Fibromyalgia worsened. Viki says both conditions are similar and can be very debilitating. ME robs a person of energy, leaving them very tired and exhausted with a cloudy mind. Fibromyalgia can also leave people feeling very tired and has a similar cloudy mind feeling commonly known as ‘Fibro Fog’.

She said: “The biggest difference between the two conditions is that Fibromyalgia is painful. There is no known reason as to why but Fibromyalgia suffers are constantly in a lot of pain. It can be all the time and all over the body. It is relentless and this can lead to suffers becoming more withdrawn from society as the pain and the lack of a normal life leads to depression.”

Viki said having to give up work was “soul destroying” and she had to spend a lot of time at home recuperating.

She said: “You become trapped, too tired to go anywhere and so I became pretty much housebound. I soon became fed up of being at home all the time but the catch 22 is that my anxiety levels grew and, as much as I wanted to escape, I was too anxious and afraid to leave the house in case I couldn’t handle it.”

Fed up with feeling ill Viki sought help from her GP, had physio and also found alternative therapies but nothing had a lasting effect.

Viki said: “I had heard of a new therapy called the Bowen technique where gentle manipulation of the connective tissues helped alleviate pain. It was first started in Australia by a Tom Bowen in the 1930s.

“I had heard that it was pretty good for helping people with my conditions. I knew I wanted to try it and so went looking for a local practitioner.

“I found a wonderful woman in Lincoln called Jackie Clark and started a course of treatment. For three weeks I went weekly for my treatments and then I dropped down to once a month.

“My pains began to ease, my Fibro fog cleared up a lot and my energy levels improved too. I was able to start painting again, something which I missed doing.

“Jackie was not only helping me regain my health and giving me my life back but she also told me about a great little craft shop in Lincoln where I could rent a shelf and sell my painted items.

“I contacted the shop With Love From Lincolnshire and they were happy to rent me space to sell my gifts.”

Intrigued to learn more about Bowen therapy Viki signed up for a training course and as well as doing that she also opened up her own shop, The Wishes, in Gainsborough.

She said: “I live in a property which has a shop attached and thought it would be great to offer local artists and crafters the same opportunity that the shop in Lincoln was giving me. Small local artists and crafters generally cannot afford to rent a whole shop for many reasons. The cost is expensive and they often cannot produce enough products to fill a shop themselves but, many crafters can fill a shop and it is a lot more affordable to rent shelf space.

“The Wishes store opened on November 5, and is home to around 20 wonderful local artists and crafters who have handmade a varied and wonderful collection of products which are perfect for those unique Christmas gifts.

“I am currently running the shop, which is open four days a week, and offering Bowen therapy from my own treatment room which is also at my home. I have a growing list of clients who are coming to me for treatment. I am pleased to say that I am getting some great feedback too and people are also reporting that the pains they were living with are easing.”

“I am happy to be able to give people the opportunity to try something that has given me my life back.”

From the start Bowen therapy intrigued me and I wanted to know more about and with the significant difference it was having on my life I decided that I wanted to learn more so I could help others. Jackie helped me to get on the right course to learn Bowen Therapy. I signed up and headed off at the end of October to Nuneaton for the first of several weekend courses.

The changes didn’t stop there. While waiting to start learning Bowen Therapy I opened up The Wishes store here in Gainsborough. I live in a property which has a shop attached and thought it would be great to offer local artists and crafters the same opportunity that the shop in Lincoln was giving me. Small local artists and crafters generally cannot afford to rent a whole shop for many reasons. The cost is expensive and they often cannot produce enough products to fill a shop themselves but, many crafters can fill a shop and it is a lot more affordable to rent shelf space.

The Wishes store opened on the 5th November and is home to around 20 wonderful local artists and crafters who have handmade a varied and wonderful collection of products which are perfect for those unique Christmas gifts. We have hand painted baseball caps, handmade jewellery, glass art, paintings and many more.

I am currently running the shop which is open four days a week and offering Bowen therapy from my own treatment room which is also at my home. I have a growing list of clients who are coming to me for treatment and I am pleased to say that I am getting some great feedback too. People are also reporting that the pains they were living with are easing. It is ideal for many complaints especially sports injuries and muscle pains and many more, clients experience energy recovery, reduced pain and improvement of function.

I tried to return to work while I living with these conditions but it was hard. I worked in a couple of local nurseries working with children which was great fun but unfortunately the pain and tiredness forced me to give up full time work. I tried to work again and took up a part time job but that too became hard and I was also forced to give that up which was a shame as I was working with adults with learning disabilities at a local care home. They were jobs I really enjoyed and found very rewarding.

My name is Viki Clarke. I am 44 and a mother to Alice (24) who is at Uni in Sheffield studying sociology. I was born in Gainsborough and went to school here and Kirton in Lindsey. I have worked at The Beckett School and William Harrison School as a teaching assistant and supported adults with learning disability. I enjoy painting and being creative making all kinds of gifts. I enjoy travelling and exploring new places and walking.

My Story:

I was diagnosed with ME and Fibromyalgia in 2011 and had to leave my job as a support worker. Both conditions are similar and can be very debilitating. ME robs a person of energy, leaving them very tired and exhausted with a cloudy mind. Fibromyalgia also can leave people feeling very tired and has a similar cloudy mind feeling commonly known as ‘Fibro Fog’. The biggest difference between the two conditions is that Fibromyalgia is painful. There is no known reason as to why but Fibromyalgia suffers are constantly in a lot of pain. It can be all the time and all over the body. It is relentless and this can lead to suffers becoming more withdrawn from society as the pain and the lack of a normal life leads to depression.

I tried to return to work while I living with these conditions but it was hard. I worked in a couple of local nurseries working with children which was great fun but unfortunately the pain and tiredness forced me to give up full time work. I tried to work again and took up a part time job but that too became hard and I was also forced to give that up which was a shame as I was working with adults with learning disabilities at a local care home. They were jobs I really enjoyed and found very rewarding. In the past I have worked in schools I specialised in Speech & Language and Autism. For several years I used to run an Early Bird programme for parents with young children with Autism. I really liked helping people and trying to make their lives more enjoyable.

Being forced to give up working was soul destroying. I had to spend a lot of time at home recuperating You become trapped, too tired to go anywhere and so i became pretty much housebound and soon became fed up of being at home all the time. The catch 22 is that my anxiety levels grew and as much as i wanted to escape from I b was too anxious are afraid to leave the house in case I could not handle it.

To make matters worse the conditions were made worse when I ate specific foods. I would often feel like I was living with a constant hangover but I hadn’t been drinking and haven’t had any alcohol for over two years. I didn’t want to become just another person living on prescription drugs. I was fed up of feeling ill and decided to take back my life as best as I could. I began to cut out foods which had sugar and gluten and follow a Fodmap diet. I started to do gentle yoga to help with the pain and strengthen my body. These helped to a point but they were not long lasting. Even the Yoga took a back seat when the pain became too intense.

I tried getting help through my GP and had physio and also found alternative therapies but nothing had a lasting effect. I had heard of a new therapy called the Bowen technique where gentle manipulation of the connective tissues helped alleviate pain. It was first started in Australia by a Tom Bowen in the nineteen thirties. I had heard that it was pretty good for helping people with my conditions. I knew I wanted to try it and so went looking for a local practitioner. I found a wonderful woman in Lincoln called Jackie Clark and started a course of treatment. For three weeks I went weekly for my treatments and then I dropped down to once a month. My pains began to ease, my Fibro fog cleared up a lot and my energy levels improved too. I was able to start painting again, something which I missed doing. Jackie was not only helping me regain my health and giving me my life back she also told me about a great little craft shop in Lincoln where I could rent a shelf and sell my painted items. I contacted the shop With Love From Lincolnshire and they were happy to rent me space to sell my gifts.

From the start Bowen therapy intrigued me and I wanted to know more about and with the significant difference it was having on my life I decided that I wanted to learn more so I could help others. Jackie helped me to get on the right course to learn Bowen Therapy. I signed up and headed off at the end of October to Nuneaton for the first of several weekend courses.

The changes didn’t stop there. While waiting to start learning Bowen Therapy I opened up The Wishes store here in Gainsborough. I live in a property which has a shop attached and thought it would be great to offer local artists and crafters the same opportunity that the shop in Lincoln was giving me. Small local artists and crafters generally cannot afford to rent a whole shop for many reasons. The cost is expensive and they often cannot produce enough products to fill a shop themselves but, many crafters can fill a shop and it is a lot more affordable to rent shelf space.

The Wishes store opened on the 5th November and is home to around 20 wonderful local artists and crafters who have handmade a varied and wonderful collection of products which are perfect for those unique Christmas gifts. We have hand painted baseball caps, handmade jewellery, glass art, paintings and many more.

I am currently running the shop which is open four days a week and offering Bowen therapy from my own treatment room which is also at my home. I have a growing list of clients who are coming to me for treatment and I am pleased to say that I am getting some great feedback too. People are also reporting that the pains they were living with are easing. It is ideal for many complaints especially sports injuries and muscle pains and many more, clients experience energy recovery, reduced pain and improvement of function.

I am happy to be able to give people the opportunity to try something that has given me my life back. My confidence has been restored and my energy levels are a lot better now than they have been for several years. Plus the dreaded Fibro fog is now something which I rarely experience. There are the odd days but nothing to what I had to endure in the past. I continue to receive the Bowen treatment monthly with Jackie who is also now helping me through my training too.

It great to have ‘me’ back again which would not have been possible without Bowen therapy and my wonderful family who have supported me through these tough few years.

My partner and I are planning to move abroad in the future and I am looking forward to taking the Bowen therapy skills with me to help more people there.