IMAGINE being so exhausted you sleep for 23 hours, only to wake up, make a cup of tea and be so drained you need to go back to sleep again.

For some sufferers of ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) or chronic fatigue syndrome that can be the reality, and as well as dealing with a debilitating condition, they can face the stigma surrounding what has previously been known as ‘yuppie flu’.

Now Haverhill man Chris Aldis is talking about his experience of the condition in the hope it will raise awareness – and he’s also hoping to raise some money to support fellow sufferers by facing his phobia.

ME has traditionally attracted some controversy and confusion, because – as yet – there is no single understanding of what causes or triggers it, something backed up by Chris’s own experience.

“It was around Christmas 2005, when I was working as a carer with the elderly in Berkshire. I was really tired and run down, but I just assumed it was the time of year.

“It got worse and, in February 2006, I collapsed at work and had to go into hospital.

“I had a week off work, and after that, every time I tried to go back to work, I relapsed.”

Eventually he had to leave the job he loved, and it was at this time he was sleeping up to 23 hours per day.

Simple actions such as making a cup of tea left him physically and mentally exhausted, but doctors were unable to shed any light on the condition, and being forced to give up on what he had planned to be a long-term career left him depressed.

As well as the exhaustion – which goes far beyond the average person’s experience of ‘tiredness’ – Chris suffers constant muscle pain, for which he must take painkillers.

While even the slightest exertion can exacerbate the condition, Chris learned to manage his symptoms and recognise his limits.

In March 2007, he decided a change in scenery might be needed, and moved to Haverhill, with the hope of finding work again.

But some potential employers paled at the idea of taking on a person with ME, who - they possibly imagined - would need to take a lot of time off work.

He said: “So many people, as soon as they found out I had ME, my application went in the bin.”

One might think the demands of excitable, adventurous and physically active small children might be beyond the realms of someone with chronic fatigue syndrome, but Chris applied for a job with Dizzy’s Day Nursery, in Hollands Road, Haverhill, (although he admits he nearly didn’t send the application in) and the nursery was keen to employ him – in fact Chris cannot speak highly enough of the support they have offered him.

Chris said: “It’s a very demanding job, but I work with very understanding people and they know I’m not the one who’s going to be able to go out in the garden with the children.”

Liz Jones, manager of Dizzy’s, said: “Chris is a great asset to the nursery, so if we hadn’t employed him, we would have lost out.