A FORMER international athlete has described how she was left crawling around her house after being struck down by ME.

Janette Cardy, 39, from Madley Park, Witney, represented Great Britain in the World Biathle Championships in Monaco in 2003, running 1500m, swimming 200m, and then running another 1500m in under 15 minutes.

But just a year later, the fatigue syndrome ended her sporting career.

Now she is launching new dance classes across Oxfordshire to help people affected by illness get fit again.

Ms Cardy said: “Sport was everything for me. I was up at five in the morning to train, and in bed by nine. When I took part in my first world championship, there was nothing bigger in my life. I wanted to go back the next year and get on the podium.”

But in 2004, a week after coming third in a competition in Italy, she felt ill preparing for a 10K race in Kidlington.

She said: “I did the race, but was feeling worse and worse. I had pain in my legs, and my glands were up.”

Doctors told her she was suffering chronic fatigue. Her body had gone into shutdown after being pushed to the limit for years.

Ms Cardy said: “I never knew how long it would take to get better.

“There is nothing I could do. There is no medication.

“I was totally helpless, and just had to go on through it.”

She added: “For nine months, I could not do anything. I could not walk without holding somebody else.

“A ten-minute walk would wipe me out for the rest of the day.

“It was very hard, and totally frustrating.

“I would always get up because I did not want to stay in bed, but sometimes I could not even walk to the toilet.

“I would be crawling on my hands and knees to get there.”

Even after the worst had passed, she endured four slow years of recovery.

She said: “I might plan to go out for dinner, but would then have a relapse for a whole weekend. I lost quite a few friends through it.”

She added: “It was horrendous, and I would not wish it on anybody, but I believe you can look back on everything in life and learn something.

“I miss the big competitions, but now I get my highs from helping people get fit.

“I wanted to get down with real people – who have got ME, or disabilities, or issues that have put them off fitness.”

Now she runs fitness classes in community halls across Oxfordshire.

Her latest venture is teaching Zumba dance, a Latin fusion of Salsa and Merangae, in Witney, Eynsham, Oxford, Abingdon, and Bampton.

For more information, visit www.janettecardyfitness.co.uk