Karren Winters-Cavalot

  • Karren trained as a nurse at her local hospital as soon as she left school; having known for years this was the career she wanted to follow. She spent 5 years on a medical ward before transferring to emergency medicine as a Senior Sister. She later became the Operations Capacity Manager for two hospitals, overseeing patients from their admission to discharge.
  • Arthritis and chronic back pain forced her to leave this role as it became too difficult to provide the care her patients needed, and she went to work at an IVF clinic as a Fertility Nurse Specialist. Over the next few years, she began teaching and took on the role of Learning Manager supervising a team of tutors and teaching assistants before she became ill in 2015 and her hectic life changed overnight.
  • Unable to recover properly from her illness she was hospitalised and underwent a barrage of blood tests, x-rays, and scans. Three years later she was finally diagnosed with ME/CFS and orthostatic intolerance. Karren, her husband, and their two teenage boys eventually moved to Staffordshire to live in a quieter, more rural area, which she loves. When her health allows, she enjoys walking along the river with her family and their 2 dogs.
  • Karren has since worked as a digital communications and social media specialist for Healthwatch Stafford and Leicestershire where she designed and managed websites and social media health campaigns.
  • She joined the ME Association in April 2023 and is working from home where she plans to use her knowledge of medicine, healthcare, digital communication, and her lived experience of ME/CFS to support and help others in the community. Karren is very passionate about ensuring everyone with ME/CFS has easy access to good quality health and social care.
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