Emerge Australia welcomes recording artist Bloom as our newest Ambassador. 

We are delighted to announce that Amanda Canzurlo, who uses the stage name of Bloom, has joined Emerge Australia as an Ambassador to help raise funds and awareness for ME/CFS at her shows which take place across Australia. 

Amanda was diagnosed with glandular fever at the age of 16. After being bedridden for approximately 8-10 weeks she was then diagnosed with ME/CFS. Back then, before Facebook and widespread internet use, there wasn't much easily accessible research, patient information or support services.

When Amanda returned to high school, she averaged one day off a week in her senior studies and would fall asleep in class. This led to her needing to reduce her study load of senior subjects, as she lacked the energy and memory function to complete her studies. Amanda says "I lost the ability for a short time for my brain to convert information from short term to long term memory and had to resort back to rote learning. I also had to re-learn how to have a conversation. Not being able to find words to communicate knocked my confidence around. I was planning to go to university straight out of school to study nursing, but I couldn't because of not being able to complete my TEE exams."

For over a decade Amanda went to a range of different healthcare practitioners seeking answers. "Holding down a full-time job in my early 20's was a struggle. I would be asleep by 7.30pm after a full day, or need to try and rest during lunch breaks. Sometimes I would have to go home half way through the day because I just didn't have the energy to get through."

Amanda says that her memory has improved over time, but that managing her energy envelope was the hardest aspect of the disease. "I am now a full-time touring artist. My lifestyle is much like shift work and I need to listen to my body and pace. It was a long road to get to the version of myself today and I am still a work-in-progress as I still have to actively manage my ME/CFS, but when I heard about the great work Emerge Australia was doing I wanted to help".

“I had never shared my diagnosis publicly, but in joining Emerge Australia as an ambassador, and sharing my story, I hope to bring much needed awareness of this life-altering and disabling condition and raise much needed funds for Emerge Australia to continue their vital work.”

"We are thrilled to announce Amanda as an Ambassador for Emerge Australia. With her support, we will be able to raise much needed funds for Emerge Australia and awareness of ME/CFS at her concerts. Amanda is a talented singer who is passionate about supporting our work.  Thank you Amanda for choosing us to support!" Emerge Australia CEO Anne Wilson said.

Visit https://bloomofficial.com.au/ to find out when Bloom will next visit your nearest city.