'We shall have spring again' - Messages of hope and solidarity for 2025

Dec 31, 2024

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
C.S. Lewis

A few weeks ago, my dad sent me a photo he had taken while walking the dog. I was immediately struck by what looked to me to be the image of a lion’s face in the trees and reminded of the above quote from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

I have been really moved by the many touching messages I have received from people sharing that The Red Tree and ME: One leaf at a time resonated with their lived experience as a person with ME or as a caregiver.

Unsurprisingly, Shaun Tan’s beautiful images and words continue to touch hearts and minds, but it is my sense that the precision with which The Red Tree has struck a chord and offers authentic connection and representation for people with ME is quite unique.

Many with ME and their caregivers are facing 2025 with fear of what another new year will hold for them and their loved ones. We need to know we are not forgotten, not alone and that there is real hope. Ever in search of red leaves, I reached out to leading clinicians and some of the scientists who dedicate their time and energy, despite pitiful funding, to researching Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Long COVID and other Infection Associated Chronic Conditions. I invited them to kindly share a ‘red leaf’ with us. They did not disappoint!

As the red leaves arrived in my inbox, the excitement about sharing these beautiful messages of solidarity and hope more widely has been building. My best hope is that these heartwarming messages about scientific progress and collaborative endeavour encourage you at some level, whatever (and maybe even despite) your circumstances, especially as we enter a new year. I plan to revisit these red leaves whenever I need a boost in this long winter while we wait for spring again. I invite you to join me – one leaf at a time.

We are scientists dedicated to unraveling the biological mechanisms of long COVID and ME/CFS. We also lean on The Red Tree for strength and perseverance to tackle this enormous challenge. We are turning every leaf for clues to find therapies that can chip away at the root causes of these illnesses. — Professor Akiko Iwasaki

Science lights a winding path that will end in effective treatment. — Professor Chris Ponting

Amidst the confusion of unexplained chronic illnesses like MECFS and Long COVID, there might be a temptation to think that you are forgotten. That your value is less because of your illness. Neither is true. We in science remember you every day. We consider your suffering and use this to drive us to find you answers. You are a priceless human being, and no amount of disease or disability from your illness has or ever will diminish your value. Always remember please that you are enough, and that I and our team of clinicians and researchers care about your recovery and well-being. All love, Wes — Professor Wes Ely

You are not alone in this journey. I want to assure you that we are working tirelessly to unravel the physiological pathways of these conditions. Every experiment we conduct, every discovery we make, brings us one step closer to understanding and finding solutions. You inspire me daily. Never give up hope. I see you, I hear you, and I will not stop until we, the dedicated research community, unlock the answers that lead to better diagnostics, treatments, and ultimately, healing. I will also continue to advocate and speak out at every possible occasion, for the recognition that post-viral illnesses are not psychosocial conditions. Graded exercise therapy (GET) and psychosocial approaches are not the treatments for these complex physiological conditions. Our mission is to ensure that the science speaks for itself and that you receive the care and understanding you deserve. Together, we will make progress. Stay strong and hold on to hope. — Professor Resia Pretorius

The way diseases get identified, understood, controlled and cured is through scientific investigations, ranging from epidemiology to the molecular. There is a large and growing band of scientists, albeit not well funded, doing everything we can to make progress in each of these sub-fields. The origins of post-viral diseases (including both Long COVID and ME/CFS) are clear, and to my eyes the underlying mechanism consequent upon the initial infection is what is called in traditional Chinese Medicine “blood stasis”. We think that the microclots that we discovered to be far more numerous in those with ME/CFS than in controls are at the heart of this. We shall continue in this vein and one may hope for significant further progress in 2025. The scientists are with you and have your back. — Professor Douglas Kell

I think of you all every day as I work to untangle the complex molecular basis of this horrific disease. We have made a lot of progress lately, and many scientists around the world are taking the data and making much more informed hypotheses about the causes and potential paths to treatments. I am very optimistic that soon the major mechanisms that initiate the disease will be found. This will allow a concerted effort to reverse the process and find a cure. Right now we have multiple projects making progress. Projects on the itaconate shunt, Manganese, BH4, neutrophils, red blood cell deformability, genetics, pathogen hunting, and oxidative damage. We constantly communicate and collaborate with the best researchers around the world. We are working with an excellent team at the University of Utah who have developed three different animal models of ME/CFS and Long Covid - bacterial, mouse and zebrafish. This is allowing us to test all known drugs and multiple supplements and natural products, some of which are demonstrating an ability to block the disease process. Taken together, this work fills me with hope that my son and all of you will have some treatment possibilities quite soon. Please hang in there. We are with you every day and I send you all my love and solidarity. — Professor Ron Davis

Living with ME or Long COVID is incredibly challenging, and winters in general and holidays in particular are always tough. But your lived experience is reshaping research, driving better clinical care, and advancing understanding of infection-associated chronic illness in ways only you can. As always, I'm impressed by our community's thoughtfulness, empathy, and determination. Your strength isn’t just in enduring—it’s how you contribute to the change we all need. — Jaime Seltzer

A message to the community. I have personally pledged to spend the rest of my career trying to realise the vision that every person suffering with Long COVID, ME or other invisible illness is seen, heard, treated and supported fairly and compassionately. There are many of us who are fighting for the cause and have your back. We won’t give up - please know you are not alone, not forgotten and we will keep going until there is real change. — Dr Binita Kane

To everyone suffering with ME, Long-COVID, post-Lyme, and all the related diseases that have taken so much. All of our most important discoveries have been inspired by, and are dedicated to you, and to the children with mitochondrial disorders who helped show us the way. Science and medicine are growing. Old ideas that don’t work are gradually being thrown out. Please hold tight. I am very hopeful that truly effective new treatments and even cures are not far away. I know that for many, the long winter of stalled progress has stolen years, sometimes decades, of your life. I truly believe that science is on the cusp of finding the answers that will jumpstart your recovery and signal the start of a new spring for millions of people who now suffer with these devastating chronic diseases. In solidarity and hope. — Professor Robert K. Naviaux

We are increasingly optimistic about progress in this field, especially as more and more clinicians and researchers are focusing on ME/CFS and Long COVID. New approaches and treatments have been emerging, and we expect these insights and treatments to continue to emerge in the next year. Many more patients are likely to benefit as clinicians new to the field discover the value of treating the common problems in ME/CFS, such as orthostatic intolerance, joint hypermobility, and mast cell activation syndrome. — MECFS and Related Disorder Program

Full scientific understanding of a human disease is never straightforward – often because it is obstructed by a dogma preserved by vested interests. The unhelpful, destructive psychosocial dogma describing the cause of ME/CFS is one such example. It will soon be replaced by scientific enlightenment. — Dr William Weir

As we move into 2025, I just wanted to share this message of hope for people who live with Long COVID, ME/CFS and other infection-associated chronic conditions: we are learning more every single day about how to treat and manage these conditions. We know that you have been waiting for a long time, but help is coming! — Professor David Putrino

Every day, science makes important strides toward understanding the disease mechanisms behind ME/CFS and Long COVID. We are uncovering clues about how the immune system, energy production, and other systems may be affected in these conditions. This knowledge will ultimately help us identify better ways to diagnose and treat these conditions and understand why they persist for so long. We are growing as a laboratory and collaborating with many other researchers who share the same goal of finding answers more quickly. The momentum in research is building, and every discovery brings us one step closer to finding solutions. Please know that your experience is being heard and studied, and that meaningful progress is on the horizon. — Dr Sarah Annesley

I believe the 2021 NICE Guidelines are a significant step forward giving hope for better care for patients in the future. Firstly, they have consigned Graded Exercise Therapy to the dustbin of history where it truly belongs. Secondly, they provide guidelines on diagnosis and management, and an acknowledgement that psychosocial approaches for the management of ME are inappropriate and potentially harmful for this illness. I will continue to advocate for these guidelines to be fully implemented and further improved with time. Very best wishes to all. — Dr Nigel Speight

Dear Friends, Colleagues, Patients with Long Covid, ME/CFS and other post-viral chronic illnesses, as we are entering a new year, I want to tell you that the World is now slowly waking up, many of us are literally fighting not only to raise awareness about the real organic nature of your debilitating diseases, but also to find the best pharmacological options to help you to go back to a normal life. Please do not lose hope now that we are trying to revolutionize the way post-viral illnesses are seen. We will give all our energies to achieve this result. Luckily, we are now all collaborating and sharing experiences, and I am optimistic we will achieve our goals. Merry Christmas and wish you all the best 2025. — Dr Danilo Buonsenso

My hope for 2025 is that we see scientific breakthroughs and new faces joining our research efforts to help accelerate scientific discoveries that benefit people with ME and Long Covid. We are building a stronger biomedical evidence base that we hope will attract more scientists and more funding to the field of ME and Long Covid research. — Dr Audrey Ryback

We are here with you fighting every day for a better tomorrow. — Professor David Price

Researchers around the world are working every day to find answers. To understand the underlying biology of the disease. To piece together the puzzle. To give hope. You are not forgotten. You are not alone. Although you might not see it, just know there are countless researchers out there fighting for answers and solutions every single day. — Tina Katsaros

Patients often look to healthcare professionals and researchers to change their lives, but I hope you know how deeply you impact ours in return. Being introduced to this community has been the most beautiful experience of my life, leaving a lasting mark on my heart. You are truly incredible—never lose your spark, your courage, or your fight. Every step forward, no matter how small, shines brighter because of you. — Hayley Arron

We are hopeful 2025 will provide answers for you all. Stay strong. We will do all we can to help. — Physios4ME

Every day there are hundreds of passionate researchers working hard to discover effective treatments and diagnostic tests for people with ME/CFS, Long COVID and similar illnesses. We know so much more than we did even a decade ago and we continue to make constant progress into understanding the biological mechanisms at play. — Dr Daniel Missailidis

From the feeling of hope we can change our present for a better future trusting that there will be an answer that will help us to get better beyond healing. — Dr Francisco Mera-Cordero

Where there is research there is always hope. — Professor Simon Carding

Many thanks to all the scientists, researchers, clinicians and advocates who have kindly shared these beautiful messages of hope and solidarity.

bb.scriobh

Dec 31

This is amazing, Jo. I find it so hard to keep my hope for eventual treatment, and it’s “only” five years for me... reading some of these messages from some of the medics and scientists who have been working and advocating so hard for us has made me cry. Here’s to a better future! ❤️

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Willow

Thank you so much Jo,

I used to read Shaun Tan books to my children. May you collect many red leaves along your path. Happy New Year.

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'We shall have spring again' - Messages of hope and solidarity for 2025

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