“After reading some of the chronic fatigue recovery stories, I was hopeful for a rapid improvement in my son Danny’s health, but I didn’t quite dare believe it! It is truly incredible, and I am so happy.
In fact, Danny’s improvement was so rapid and so significant it made me wonder if we had imagined his illness. For three months, he couldn’t walk further than 1km without resting, and when the doctor measured his pulse rate it was 70 lying down and rose to 110 on standing, which explained his severe dizziness on standing.
These were all very debilitating and seriously worrying symptoms, and all have gone after Steve’s course.
Danny has now gone back to school and he’s playing tennis again.
Steve is literally transforming people’s lives. Not only Danny’s life, but mine (I am now sleeping again), his father is so much happier, my daughter is so much happier, and all his grandparents are so much happier.
I recommend any parent with a child suffering from serious fatigue, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or other similar chronic conditions, put their son or daughter on Steve’s course sooner rather than later.”
Marianne, mother of Danny who suffered from Post Viral Fatigue
Frankie’s Long Covid Recovery Story
From junior running and swimming champion to being unable to walk from the sofa to the fridge, Long Covid turned 12-year-old Frankie’s world upside down in October 2022. But with the help of New Pathways, nine months later she’s now running down the road to recovery.
“Frankie has always been a happy and healthy girl. She is bright and loves school, and she is always on the go – she can’t sit still! Before getting Covid, she swam four times a week and was a county champion in running. All through lockdown she did the Joe Wicks workout every day. That was just who she was.
“In September 2022, she went up to high school. The first term was pretty full on but she was taking it all in her stride. Then in October, she caught Covid and the Frankie we knew just disappeared. Initially she was wiped out for a week with the virus, and was able to go back to school after a week and a half off. But she wasn’t right in herself and she started missing days here and there because she was too tired or was feeling unwell.
“Things just got progressively worse as the weeks passed. Brain fog, aching limbs and an overwhelming tiredness which meant she couldn’t even walk from the sofa to the fridge. She was dragging her foot, and the doctors started testing for conditions which would explain her symptoms.
“Like most parents with a child with Long Covid, we started looking online for advice. Vitamin B12, dietary changes, rest and pacing – we tried it all. We were so worried about Frankie and wanted to help her. My husband was trawling the internet for a ‘miracle cure’ when he found the New Pathways website. We were very excited about the potential for it to work for Frankie and we contacted Steve to find out more. He was so reassuring and held our hand throughout the process.
“Steve was friendly, encouraging and supportive of Frankie. Initially, we sat in on the Zoom sessions, but after a couple, we let Frankie do them on her own. She was really comfortable with him and he was the only person she saw regularly about her Long Covid. To begin with, we started seeing Steve a few times a week, but once Frankie had been taught the techniques, they tapered down to support sessions once a week, once a fortnight and then monthly while she learned to put them into practice.
“Once Frankie started using the techniques, she gradually started getting better. She journalled her achievements and progress and you could see in black and white how much she was improving. Soon after, Frankie was able to build up to doing half days at school, which was a big step forwards. Unfortunately, she had a couple of setbacks in her recovery – gastritis from the pain killers she was taking and appendicitis – but she persevered with the New Pathway techniques and by the summer holidays, I said to her ‘you don’t have Long Covid anymore’. There was such a difference in her.
“Frankie spent the summer holidays doing what most 12-13 year old girls do. She went shopping with her friends, she went swimming in the sea and had sleepovers. We went to Greece on a family holiday and she was swimming every day and walking. She never sat down! In September, Frankie went back to school full time, which is amazing as she hadn’t been able to do that since last year.
“There is still a little further to go on her recovery. We are easing her back into the running and swimming gradually rather than rushing back into her full-on routine, but she has started taking part in PE lessons at school. She doesn’t want to talk about Long Covid anymore, she just wants to move forwards with her life.
“If you are a parent of a child with Long Covid, my advice would definitely be to do the New Pathways programme. Go in with your eyes open and listen to what Steve has to share with you. The tools and skills he’s given Frankie have helped her overcome Long Covid, but she can also use them in the future as she reaches her exams and the world of work. The programme really has been a lifesaver.”
Becky – Frankie’s Mum
“I love cycling, that’s my thing. Before I caught Covid I had been training seriously in road racing, between 8-12 hours a week. I had a good group of friends around me who also enjoyed cycling and we’d all go out together once or twice a week. I was reasonably good academically, although I wasn’t a morning person and this had dented my attendance a bit!
“I managed to avoid getting Covid but eventually I caught it in March 2022. It was just like flu. I was quite bad for a few days and my acute symptoms continued for about 10 days after that. Towards the end of that period, I felt well enough to go out for a few easy bike rides and I expected I would be back to normal in no time. But I wasn’t.
“I was breathless, fatigued and my heart rate was off. I found it really frustrating as I just wanted to go out on my bike and see my friends. I carried on cycling for a few weeks but then had to give up. It made me so tired and I worried that if I did anything, like going out, I would feel even worse for it the next day.
“My aunt had Covid at the very start of the pandemic and she had debilitating Long Covid for about 18 months afterwards, so I was very aware of the symptoms and what to look out for. After a month went past and I didn’t feel any better, I went to my GP and they recommended pacing to help me manage the fatigue. They were worried about POTS too (postural tachycardia syndrome) as my heart rate was irregular.
“Eight weeks later there was no improvement in my condition so my doctor sent me for blood tests but they didn’t find any underlying medical reason for the fatigue or my other symptoms, which actually got worse when I was doing my GCSEs.
“Almost a year later, the New Pathways programme was mentioned to my Mum by my Gran and we decided to look into it. We were all very sceptical in the beginning, but my Dad found an article in the Guardian that seemed to support what Steve was saying about how to treat Long Covid. So in March 2023, I took part in the programme over Zoom.
“After the first few sessions, I got a better picture of the course and how it was going to help me. It was a relief to be honest, as I felt like I didn’t have to stress about Long Covid anymore. A week or so later, I started going out on my bike again.
“I think it would be weird if you weren’t sceptical about the New Pathways programme as its such a different concept for treating Long Covid but you should give it a go. It’s probably going to work for you.
“Steve is really empathetic and we still have monthly check ins to ensure I’m staying on track and using the techniques I’ve learned to stay healthy.
“I’m now back to cycling five times a week and also fitting in the gym where I can. I’d say my health is a 9/10. I recently went on my longest ride ever – 100 miles around Scotland. I’m at college doing my A-levels and I go out when I want. Long Covid is no longer dictating what I do.”
14-year-old Sam had battled complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) as well as chronic fatigue syndrome and extreme hypermobility syndrome for many years. His CRPS condition caused him to suffer persistent burning pain in his limbs, which forced him to leave school and study at home.
But after working with Steve, Sam made a full recovery and got his life back. He returned to school and he could finally enjoy hugs with his family, which were previously too painful to bear.
His mum Emma said: “To be rid of the pain he felt every day after just a three-day training course is absolutely amazing. We walked the dog which is something we have not done for at least 18 months and he asked,’ “can I go for a run?” ‘I said “of course you can” with a big lump in my throat. He came back and said “something has really changed, I don’t feel like I have just run a marathon”.
Since his treatment, Sam has stopped taking daily painkillers and medication. His mum says it is just nice to see Sam confident again and that he is growing into the man he was always meant to be.
Sam is now looking forward to just living a ‘normal life’ with his family and friends. He said: “Everyone at school was really pleased to see me back. I just want to live life and be happy.”
25-year-old Charlotte had suffered with chronic fatigue syndrome since she was a teenager. Bed bound and unable to put on her socks or brush her teeth on most days, she didn’t believe anything could help her.
“When I was 13, I was badly bullied at school. I think the stress of it was the trigger for my chronic fatigue syndrome as afterwards I started to feel drained all the time, like I had no energy.
In those early years, I was referred to lots of different specialists including the school counsellor, a cognitive therapist and even a rehabilitation clinic for people with disabilities. That was a real low point and I thought ‘I can’t do anything with my life, there’s no way out’.
The chronic fatigue affected everything. My school attendance went down to 30% and even after I left full time education, I found it difficult to hold down a job.
My parents found Steve’s chronic fatigue recovery stories online and thought I should give the course a go. I felt revitalised after the first day. I couldn’t believe it. Steve explained what was going on with me and how to get out of it.
I discovered what my stress triggers are and now I have the techniques to cope with anything life throws at me.
It takes work and practice – it’s not an overnight fix – but it gets easier when you know how. I’ve gone from not being able to hold down a job and feeling like I had no prospects, to joining a gym, meeting a partner, moving into our own house together and getting a new job. I’ve completed a diploma course in sports injury massage during lockdown too.
I can live my life as normal without worrying about the consequences of doing too much. I’ve even started to make friends, something I have always struggled with in the past.
We talk about Steve a lot! He makes you feel like you are his only client and he’s always there when you need him.
I’d recommend Steve to anyone. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. My doctors told me that I just had to live with CFS, but I didn’t have to. All you need is the right mental state and a belief that you can recover from chronic fatigue syndrome. What have you got to lose?”
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“Before Covid, we were always a very active family. We loved to go on walks together with the dog and we enjoyed water sports like body boarding and paddle boarding. I had my own business, working as a mobile nail technician, and I also helped with the admin side of my husband’s business.
“I’ve always been sensitive, and when the pandemic hit, I was very affected by the constant coverage and the images I was seeing. I was particularly worried for my parents and my Nan, who I helped to care for.
“Despite being very careful, and taking all the precautions I could, I came down with Covid in October 2020. I just felt under the weather when we went to an outdoor pumpkin patch with my son and a bit tired. I didn’t have a temperature, a cough or a loss of taste or smell. I’ve felt worse with the flu and other bugs!
“I didn’t even think I had it, but I needed to do a test before going to a funeral, and I found out then that I was positive via text. I began to feel worse and worse. My heart felt loud in my chest and I was weak. I got 10 steps into going out for a walk with my husband and son and had to come home.
“I rested for a few weeks and felt better so we went for a walk up the Wrekin and that’s when the Long Covid really kicked in. I never recovered from that. I was fatigued all the time and my anxiety was through the roof. I kept having panic attacks; I thought I was going to die and kept seeing all those pictures from the TV in my mind. I gradually did less and less, and I kept wondering why it was happening to me when everyone else was ok.
“I was referred to the NHS’ Long Covid team, and they gave me a CBT referral for health anxiety. That was the breaking point for me. I can talk to anyone about what I’m anxious about, it doesn’t help! What I wanted was a simple, practical way to get myself better and out of the hole I was in.
“After some searching online I came across Steve’s website and emailed straightaway about doing the course. After talking with him, I was confident it was something I could put into practice as it sounded very practical and easy to understand.
“Steve was so calming and he made me feel relaxed and at ease. I liked working with him because there was never any pressure to be perfect and I feel like I was an equal in our discussions. These days I tell everyone I meet about Steve!
“I felt better after the first session, and while there have been moments since completing the programme that I have slipped back into overdoing it or overthinking, I have the skills to get myself back on track. I can deescalate the worry thoughts and it’s helping me to stay well. I can go on our family walks around the local area again, take our new dog out for a walk and I’m back out paddle boarding on the River Severn.
“What I learned from Steve was life changing and I believe it should be taught in schools. There’s not a wealth of knowledge out there about how the mind affects how you feel and I think you’d be surprised how much it does control you. I wish I’d known about it years ago.”
23-year-old Tyler Woodstock was enjoying life as a student in Birmingham until he contracted glandular fever. After months of feeling unwell he was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and his whole life got put on hold.
“I’ve always lived my life to the full. I love to exercise, I enjoy studying and I love to party! So when I got glandular fever during my first year at uni, I thought it was just a cold or flu and that I would shake it off in a few days and be back to doing what I enjoyed.
But months later, I still wasn’t feeling any better. It wasn’t clear what was wrong, so doctors ran an antibody test and said I had the Epstein Bar Virus (which causes glandular fever), and that I had chronic fatigue syndrome.
I went home for the summer after my first year of uni finished and I didn’t do anything. I was exhausted. I thought perhaps I just needed to rest and recover, so I took a year off my course to get myself well.
I tried all kinds of things to get well from meditation and acupuncture to CBT and changes to my diet. I went to a fatigue clinic and they said I had anxiety, so I was given anti-depressants. Some things made me feel better, but nothing really fixed the problem.
Then my Dad found Steve online. I dismissed it at first, thinking that nothing would help me and I put off calling Steve for about a year. But then I finally had a conversation with him and he pulled back the curtain on the connection between the mind and body, and it made a lot of sense. I decided to do the two week intensive course (via zoom, thanks to covid).
It took a few sessions before I saw any difference but then it became very noticeable that I was better. I used to be on a three-week cycle of feeling better and then crashing, but then I felt better and… no crash?
I’m now back at University full time and I feel confident that I am capable of doing the course. I’m picking my hobbies up again, apart from really intensive exercise, and I am going out again with my friends, which is great. I’m not worried about the future and I’m making plans to travel next summer to South America.
I would – and have – recommended Steve. Think about it; it’s just two weeks and it’ll definitely do you some good. Steve is a really great guy, very empathetic. He wants to help you.”
22-year-old student Lucy had always been fit and active, and had a real passion for running. But after moving to Edinburgh for university, her rigorous training regime took its toll on her health and her body started to shut down, leaving her exhausted and without the energy to exercise to any extent without an influx of symptoms.
“I grew up in an active family and participated from an early age in long walks, orienteering events and hill races. I was competitive at running, competing for Great Britain as a junior in mountain running and orienteering.
“When I moved to Scotland to study at Edinburgh University, I was keen to keep up with my training. I joined a running club and I often trained twice a day. Unfortunately I wasn’t listening to my body and over the course of eight months the overtraining gradually started to affect me.
“My runs and sessions were becoming slower, headaches appeared after a run and every week, I was crashing completely – I just had no energy to stay awake and my whole body would go cold.
“At first I thought perhaps I had iron deficiency or Lyme’s disease but these were ruled out by the GP. The doctors I saw were frustrating and no one gave me real answers or real help. All they could advise me was to rest.
“After a year of consistently feeling awful, crashing regularly and not being able to exercise, I found Steve’s website. It was a big investment and my parents and I were all worried it wasn’t going to work. Nevertheless, the testimonials on the website reassured me that maybe this programme could help, and I signed up to do the intensive course in the March of my second year at university – a year after I first started feeling the effects of overtraining and fatigue.
“Simply put, working with Steve was life changing. I finally understood what had happened to my body. The best thing I came away with was a re-renewed mindset. I think very differently now and I’m so much more aware of the impact my thoughts have on my body, how my thoughts create my feelings and how I can stop feeling the symptoms I am feeling. The things I learnt will be with me for the rest of my life, thanks to Steve.
“I wouldn’t say I am 100% better, I still have to put the effort in to stay well. I mediate daily and I use the techniques I learned on the course regularly. Sometimes I struggle with the motivation to ‘get better’, especially on bad days where old symptoms creep in, but the fact I can now run and participate in races again really is something special, and I’m treasuring every moment I feel good.
“I no longer train competitively for running, but I have gradually eased back into it as a form of exercise. Thankfully, I’m no longer obsessive about the sport now though, an attitude which led to my ill-health. My biggest achievement since the start of the fatigue is that I recently ran 19km. I couldn’t have done that a few years ago when I was unwell. I can also stay up late and now have the energy to do my university studies to a high standard. Thanks to Steve my life is enjoyable again.
“I think to succeed in getting better it takes dedication and patience. It hasn’t always been easy. But the help Steve has given me has allowed me to get my life back on track.
“Working with Steve is great. He’s really sympathetic and knows how to speak to young people. The support he gives you and the time he invests in you is exceptional.
“If you are reading this and wondering if you should do the programme, I’d say take the leap. You never know where you could be in a few months’ time.”
“My daughter Elena had been ill with severe chronic fatigue syndrome for over a year. Then, in early April 2014, I witnessed her miraculous recovery from sick to well, because she was given a toolkit to make herself better.
There was no faith healing or voodoo involved, but there was an enlightened understanding of what causes chronic fatigue, and she was given the tools to intervene in her own physical-neurological self.
The training you get is practical and grounded. On the patient’s side, you have to be prepared to put in the work, and to hear a different take on why you might be ill. My daughter and the two other people on her course did that and I saw first-hand how they got their lives back.
I have no words to express my gratitude for my beautiful daughter’s return to health. It is utterly wonderful to have her back and see her running full pelt down the street laughing her head off with her sister!”
Liz, mother of Elena (aged 15)
“Before we started working with Steve, our daughter Emily was going to school for one hour, two or three times a week. She wouldn’t go to after school activities, or to any of her friend’s houses or parties.
The situation of not going in as she felt too unwell had been going on for over two years and we felt like it would never end. I was so desperate I didn’t think anything would help and with Emily being so young, I was scared Steve wouldn’t be able to help.
But he has. It’s been amazing. Almost like a miracle.
Since working with Steve, Emily goes to school every day. She goes for a minimum of one hour, but that is only occasionally. She generally goes in at 12, has lunch with friends in a crowded hall which she used to hate and plays outside (she used to stay in and read). She goes to friend’s houses, school discos and parties without me.
She is a different child. Emily has also stopped taking her pain medication as she says she doesn’t need it. She rarely cries and is always happy. We are hopeful she will steadily increase her time at school.
The techniques Emily and I have been taught changed her life and we will be forever grateful.
Gail, mother to Emily who was just 9 when she started working with Steve.”
We are always happy to put parents in touch with other parents whose children have completed the programme. There’s no greater reassurance than speaking to another person who has been in your shoes and knowing you are finally on the right track. Contact Steve to arrange this.
“When I was twelve I had a virus which I thought to be nothing more than a normal fever. It wasn’t until two months later when I missed six weeks of schooling, that I realised something was really wrong. My fatigue was immense, and I had changed from being an energetic kid, to someone who had no energy to wash her own hair. I even found it a struggle to hold my knife and fork whilst eating dinner.
For eight months, we went back and forth to our doctor looking for an answer. I assumed there would be some form of medication – a “miracle pill”. But it wasn’t until my mother looked up my symptoms in a medical book, that she found chronic fatigue syndrome/ME. I had the fatigue, suffered from headaches/earaches, joint and muscle pain.
It was another year before I started working with Steve. The first two days were frustrating as it became apparent that it would be down to me to help myself. All I wanted was for someone to take the responsibility off me. It was the third day though where I saw a significant difference in myself.
I had woken at 8.30am and then didn’t go to bed until midnight without having to have a sleep during the day. I even went out food shopping with my mum. The packing alone would have tired me out in normal circumstances, but I was feeling so much better. I could hardly believe it.
Now, it is the most wonderful thing to be well again. I do feel I have missed out on so much time, but believe me I am going to make up for it! My parents can’t believe they have their daughter back. It was almost worse for them as they couldn’t do anything to help me. Now, I can help myself.
I recommend Steve to anyone who is suffering. You get your life back and sometimes I even think I have more energy than the rest of my friends and family which is fantastic! As long as you’re persistent and committed and believe in yourself, you’ll come out of the training feeling brilliant. I know I have.”
Helen (age 15)
“Prior to working with Steve, I had suffered with chronic fatigue syndrome for seven years. I was diagnosed at age 12 and struggled massively with its debilitating effects. It hugely impacted upon my education and social life, I was bed ridden for almost three years and had to put school and sporting aspirations on hold.
I tried every ‘cure’ under the sun – vitamins, osteopathy, a restrictive diet and so on. Over the years I experienced temporary pain relief and brief improvements to energy levels but nothing really helped.
After starting Steve’s course last year, I decided to take some time to work, travel and get some real-world experience under my belt. I’m currently working on a few A-Levels in preparation for interviews I’ve secured with Oxford and Cambridge. My life has changed beyond recognition.”
Darragh (age 22)
Nine months after starting work with Steve, Hannah, now 15, is full of life and energy and her chronic fatigue syndrome is a thing of the past. She is at school full time, dances five hours a week and knows there is no limit to how much exercise she can do. I am so thankful for the course and how Steve has helped Hannah get back to full health after five years of illness.
“Hannah first became ill aged 10 and, after initially being diagnosed with post-viral fatigue, was eventually diagnosed with CFS. Her symptoms of nausea, headaches and exhaustion gradually improved however, after a couple of relapses and four years of CFS, Hannah was still not well enough to attend full-time school.
I spent a lot of time on the Internet trying to find answers. When I first came across the course, I was very sceptical however, I kept coming back to it because of the amazing testimonials of so many people who had recovered from CFS. I couldn’t help thinking that, if they were true, I would be crazy not to explore this further, but I couldn’t help wondering if they were fake! Eventually I took the plunge and after talking to Steve herself, Hannah agreed to attend the course.
I wasn’t sure if Hannah would manage 2 hours a day, but amazingly she did. Steve didn’t rush anything, we had a break, and he explained everything in a way Hannah could understand. Our understanding of CFS, the science of how our minds work, and the interaction of our minds and bodies increased exponentially during the course.
Attending the course gave both Hannah and I hope that she could be well again. She knew from day one it was the missing piece in the puzzle, but it took commitment and determination to put into practice what she learned in order to fully recover.
I can’t recommend Steve highly enough for anyone who has chronic fatigue which seems incurable. It’s not incurable! I now have my daughter back after five years of illness, as a direct result of Steve’s help.”
Julia, mother to Hannah (age 14)
After just turning 18, school-leaver Elizabeth started to develop crippling pain which turned out to be her body’s way of coping with the stressful situations in her life.
“I had been going through a very stressful time in my personal life, including losing people close to me, and within weeks of leaving school, I started developing crippling pain.
“I was diagnosed with several chronic pain conditions and the doctor told me that just one in three people recover from the conditions I had. This was very hard to process when I had only just turned 18 and the diagnosis affected me deeply.
“I was fearful for my future, imagining that I would be in pain forever. Over time, the pain spread across my whole body and I developed fatigue too, which only increased the anxiety I had been feeling about my health and my future. At my lowest point I felt isolated, I couldn’t cook for myself and I struggled to walk up the stairs and to have a shower each day.
“I didn’t want this to be my life, so I tried different medications and also acupuncture. Both helped to calm the pain I was in at times, but it wasn’t a fix and the pain was still there. I really felt like I just needed someone to reassure me that I was going to be ok, and that my life didn’t have to be based around managing pain and fatigue.
“About a year later I learned about the mind body connection and how it links to chronic pain. I then stumbled across Steve’s website!
“I contacted Steve and he reassured me that recovery was possible. He taught me breathing techniques and how to use memories to help calm my pain. With continued practice these techniques decreased my pain and for the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful for the future.
“Although I still have days when I struggle, I went from not being able to carry something up the stairs to being able to run 2km! The guidance I received from Steve helped get me to this point and I feel like I finally have the tools I need to fully recover.
“Chronic pain is very challenging, especially when you’re young and you feel like these should be the happiest and healthiest years of your life. I would say to anyone who is in the same position that I was in at the beginning of my chronic pain journey that you deserve to feel heard and to be shown how recovery is possible.
“Steve was so patient and he listened and helped me when I needed it most. I would definitely recommend chatting to him and learning more about the mind-body connection for yourself.”
“Wilson has made great progress since completing the programme for his chronic fatigue. He’s back at school full time and even doing PE. He had a load of mates over for an all-night movie session on New Years’ Eve, even though he had suffered from a tummy bug a few days before (unthinkable before we came to see Steve). As I am typing this I can hear him doing a band practice with his little crew. The programme has given our lovely son and brother back to us.”
Greg, father to Wilson (age 15)
