A WOMAN suffering from a debilitating health condition says a Witney charity turned her life around.
Gill Miles, of Chadlington, said women’s group Eve has helped her recover from isolation and depression caused by Multiple Sclerosis.
Eve meets once a week to offer support for women going through crisis, including domestic violence and bereavement.
Ms Miles, now 32, was diagnosed with MS at 21, when she was working as a waitress in Witney.
A scan revealed lesions on her brain – which Ms Miles said looked like spots on a Dalmatian dog – and her body has deteriorated ever since.
She said: “I used to be able to walk on crutches but that has gone down the pan.
“It has just got evil. I can’t walk any more and I’m always sat in my wheelchair.”
And she said before she started attending Eve meetings she never used to go out, adding: “I just sat at home and watched TV. I felt as though I was wasting my life away.”
The disease also had a serious impact on her social life, with friends no longer visiting and a painful split with her boyfriend. But she said Eve has helped her make new friends and brought her out of herself.
She said: “It means so much to me and I am feeling a lot better. Eve has changed me. I used to self harm myself but I do not do that any more.”
The charity has a base at High Street Methodist Church, where women meet every week to take part in activities and group sessions.
Witney co-ordinator Debi Wiffen estimates that Eve has helped about 200 women in west Oxfordshire alone. It also has groups in Bicester and Banbury.
She said: “Eve is about women supporting women.
“We help women who have gone through things that can make us feel isolated – low self-esteem, bereavement, domestic violence and sexual abuse.”
She said the group offered activities every week to help boost self-esteem, including craft making and beauty treatments.
It also offers support groups and counselling.
Eve meets every Thursday, from 10am to 2pm, in High Street Methodist Church. It is a drop-in centre and all women are welcome.
- For more details, call 01993 862 966 or see evewomenswellbeing.org
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