Greta Frisone

My name is Greta Frisone. I was born to Italian parents on November 23, 1999, in Switzerland.

Travelling back in time: In 2019, I was living in Rome, guarding the dream of becoming a dancer, and studying at a dance academy. In the middle of building my future, I got sick with the flu, which triggered ME/CFS.

The first two years of my illness were like a free fall into hell. I found myself paralysed in bed, without a voice, with artificial feeding, oxygen, and in complete darkness. I had no choice but to navigate this vast unknown alone, to search for my own answers. What got me through was hope. I learned to live freely inside my imagination; this became the only way for me to withstand the solitary confinement of my imprisoned body, without losing my mind. Eventually, slowly but surely, I emerged from being bedbound. The light returned to my eyes, but the destruction and scars remained.

Today, I am 25 years old, and my illness is moderate. My illness allows me to live in fragments of life, colourful ones, too. I still spend a lot of time indoors, resting and taking medications, most of it to tell the truth. When my body allows me to go out, I try to capture all the details of the world: I love perfumery, all things vintage, nature (both flora and fauna), writing, dancing, music, but also strangers and learning their thousand different stories. Most of all, I love the spirit of life.

That period of silence, having severe ME/CFS, made me understand who I am, and I am here to tell you about it step by step, writing it to you. Living.