Girl in a bubble

Jessica Taylor-Bearman, 29, Colchester

Slumped at my desk, my head got lower and lower as I struggled to stay awake.

‘Wake up, Jessica!’ the teacher bellowed from the front of the classroom.

It was early 2006, and I’d been feeling ill for some time.

After a bout of the flu at the end of 2005, I’d never really recovered.

Sleeping a lot, I suffered constant pain in my legs and crippling headaches.

At school, I’d always been a high achiever.

Now, I could barely keep my eyes open.

Even climbing the stairs