When Beth Yates was 13, she was taken to hospital with extreme tiredness and a ‘paralysing’ pain in her arms and legs.

She was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, which is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.

In this episode of The Balance, reporter Laura Purkess speaks to Yates, who now works in the personal wealth support team at Schroders Personal Wealth, about how she manages to work in financial planning with a debilitating condition.

Yates has a had a successful career in financial services, working at Lloyds Banking Group before joining SPW, but her life has involved constant comrpomise.

She had always wanted to study at Oxford University, but with her diagnosis came the knowledge that there neither a cure or treatment for her condition. Her future looked very uncertain.

After spending several years bed- and wheelchair-bound with limited independence, Yates says she eventually got ‘fed up’ and, through a lot of determination and ‘fighting constantly’, started to learn how to get on with life while managing the illness.

She is now studying for her diploma in financial planning alongside her work, an endeavour SPW is supporting.

If you have a story to tell for The Balance contact [email protected]