Ways To Support Vicky

 

Thank you for your interest in finding out how I’m doing.  A lot of people message me saying: “You used to be on social media, TV, and radio all the time, and we miss seeing you on those platforms. We wondered if you were OK?” In short, the answer, sadly, is no. 

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My role as a broadcaster, writer, campaigner and speaker used to be extremely busy and I was rarely standing still for a moment, until my chronic health issues became severe. I regularly appeared on national TV and radio (BBC One, Sky News, Channel 4, ITV), sometimes multiple times per week, as well as writing for national newspapers like The Guardian and The Telegraph, and gave keynote speeches at large events.

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I seemed able to ‘pull it together’ for these appearances, but behind the scenes my health had been up and down for years as a result of an autoimmune disease called Scleroderma and a genetic joint disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which causes joints to painfully dislocate. Many of the public engagements I did were followed by pain and fatigue so intense that it left me stuck in bed for days as a result of my chronic conditions. I also have a diagnosis of ME/CFS which explains the unmanageable levels of relentless fatigue and ‘brain fog’ I’ve been experiencing.

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Launching my book with Harper Collins in 2018-2019 was one of the last big public things I managed, spending months on media and promotional events for my publishers in the UK and USA. This worsened my chronic fatigue and autoimmune symptoms significantly and forced me to pull back from all public work at the end of 2019. Sadly, with each year that has passed since, my conditions have become more severe.

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Now, in 2025, I’m sad to say that I am still dealing with significant disability. Some days I might look fine, but if I’m upright and walking around, it means I’ve either rested for days to get the energy to do so, or that I’ll ‘crash’ the next day and be almost non-functioning as a result of being out and about. I have occasional good days when I manage more, but they are rare. My health issues are severe enough that I’m currently signed off work, which I find very difficult mentally and emotionally, as work has always been such a core part of my life and my vocation. Unfortunately, just managing the basic aspects of daily living takes everything I’ve got right now energy-wise, and on the difficult days even those basic tasks are often too much for me.

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I live in hope that someday soon my health will fully improve, as I greatly miss everything I used to do. My ideal goal is to be back in action campaigning for LGBTQ equality again in all the ways I did before, doing my television and radio work and writing books and articles. But right now, my up and down ill-health still makes that return to work feel out of reach. I’ll always be glad I wrote and published “Undivided” despite the toll it took on my energy and health. Many people have told me that it helped them in their own journey, which makes everything worthwhile.

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Some of you have asked how you can support me during this difficult time with my health. Firstly, the biggest thing you could do is to champion the causes that I love and that I have worked so hard on prior to becoming ill: promoting LGBTQ equality in society (especially in faith communities and churches) and trying to change laws on issues like the harmful practice of ‘gay conversion therapy’ where Christians attempt to ‘pray away’ same-sex attraction or offer ‘counselling’ or exorcisms etc. As this happened to me throughout my teens and later life, I am desperate for it to be stopped so another generation can be spared the harm it causes.

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Some of you have also asked if you could donate a few pounds/dollars to help support me financially. That is extremely kind.

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I’m still not currently well enough to manage to work, as my pain levels and connective tissue disorders really limit what I can manage each day and are so unpredictable that planning anything is almost impossible. I can save up energy and have one good day, only to have three days where I am mostly stuck in bed as my joints have disclocated or my muscles are too weak to stand for more than a few minutes. I hope to find a way to get consistently strong enough so I can restart my career again as soon as I am able. 

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Any gifts of support would be gratefully received to help keep a roof over my head during this period of ill health and to help with my medical expenses, which are significant. The energy I have is currently spent on researching and trying private medical treatments and therapies, which are exhausting but worth it. I love the NHS, but for people with complex and chronic conditions, often there isn’t much they can do, so we’re on our own and left to self-finance within private medicine. I want to keep seeking medical advice from the best specialists I can find, and to try further treatments and therapies to aid my recovery. 

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My previous career was in music, but I had to sell all my guitars and gear several years ago to help fund my medical treatments, leaving me guitarless. Several of you said you wanted to help get me a professional-grade electric guitar, so I can write songs again, make basic recordings of my song ideas, and hopefully one day return to playing and singing live as part of my future work. This has been such a kind and lovely surprise and something I could never manage on my own. If you are wanting to contribute to my ‘guitar fund’ just make a note of that with your donation. I can’t wait to have a great quality guitar to play again and feel inspired by. 

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I’m beyond grateful for those of you willing to help in this way, however small the amount. I will never forget your kindness. You can use this Paypal link (my Paypal address is vickybee1979@hotmail.com). If you’d rather send a gift via online banking, the details are as follows. Account name: Victoria Beeching. Account number: 41492225. Sort code: 401611. For overseas people, you may need these international details too: IBAN: GB30HBUK40161141492225. BIC: HBUKGB4113W

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I would love to send you a personal email saying thank you for any gifts/donations. Paypal sometimes shows me the sender’s email address when you use their site to send a donation, but not always, and online banking does not share any contact details. Feel free to send me a quick email too (vickybee1979@hotmail.com) then I can reply and acknowledge receipt of your gift for your peace of mind, and also say a big thank you. 

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I never imagined I’d need help in this way or that I’d become so unwell. I absolutely LOVED working hard and I miss my old career so much. Here’s hoping that this is just a temporary setback and that I’ll be back in action soon! Thank you for supporting me – whether that’s by cheering me on and wishing me well, or championing the causes that I love, by offering up a few prayers for my health, or by more practical financial means. Your kindness and support mean more than I can say.