A young girl lives with a little understood disorder that is more known to strike adults, particularly females.

My name is Hadassah Rachel Hirembaum, and I am 13. I live in Thousand Oaks, California, with my dad, Abrahiam, my mom, Gisela, and my three little sisters Hannah (10), Edyth (8), and Shira (5). We also have two cats named "Matzoball" (Shira named him) and "Scooter".

I am like most kids, but I do have a health problem that affects my life. I live with chronic tiredness and pain; it often leaves me feeling grumpy, and people don't understand why I miss a lot of school.

I have what is known as "chronic fatigue syndrome". This is why I am so tired all of the time. It usually strikes adults, but sometimes it can affect children, with females being more affected than males.

In addition, I have fibromyalgia. It's like having arthritis of the muscles. I have pain in my elbows, shoulders, neck, back, hips--everywhere. The pain can be described as chronic, or long-lasting; the only relief I can get from the pain is from hot baths or acetametaphine (spelling??). This makes me more tireder than I already am.

I sometimes use a wheelchair on my bad pain days, and people get mad because they think I am only faking it. Well, you can't fake anything like pain that doesn't go away, and you can't fake being tired.

People always tell me I should get more rest; heck, I get enough rest, I sleep as much as ten hours a night on non-homework nights! Yet somehow during the night, the pain from my fibro wakes me up, and then I have to wrestle with trying to go back to sleep. It's really annoying!

I have been to many different doctors, and some of them have no clue as to what's going on with me. They think that it's all in my head. Well, maybe so, in their eyes, but try telling that to my achy breaky joints or muscles! Sometimes the pain is so intense it is all I can do to keep from crying!

Well, last year I finally found a good doctor in Dr. Eakin, and also Dr. Haberbibi. They have both told me that my problems are very real, although not common in kids my age.

They have helped me by prescribing medications and telling me to rest if I am flaring (that's when my disease is active; I swear my whole life is one big flare!!), and I appreciate their caring concern more than they will ever know!

I like to do many things: sing, read (Nancy Drew, also the "American Girls" series of books, as well as "The Babysitter's Club"), watch tv ("Extreme Home Makeover", "America's Funniest Home Videos", "America's Got Talent", and "Ugly Betty" are my favorite shows), write poetry or stories on the computer, have a gabfest with my girlfriends, go shopping (that is, if I am feeling up to it), and travel. I am a very active kid, even with my physical problems.

I want to be either a meteorologist (I like science, too, particularly weather, although we don't have much in the way of extreme weather--that is, unless you count the dry days of summer and the fires, or the rains of winter) or a veterinarian. I love animals, particularly cats and horses.

Well, I will go for now. I will write in here again. Until next time, this is Hadassah signing out of here!

~Hadassah. :)