A GRADUATE who lost her teenage years to an exhausting illness is more than making up for lost time after she was cured out of the blue.

Vikki Mason, of Wotton-under-Edge, is about to embark on a three month volunteering trip to Costa Rica to research sea turtles and yet a few years ago she could barely contemplate leaving the house on her own let alone travelling half-way around the world.

At the age of 15, while studying for GCSEs, Vikki was diagnosed with ME, a chronic fatigue illness that is characterised by a range of neurological symptoms such as muscle pain with intense physical or mental exhaustion.

It had a massive impact on her life and education. She dropped from taking 11 GCSEs to five and later spent four years sitting three A-Levels at Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School.

"I was tired all the time, it was like having the flu permanently. I also had problems with vision and wore sunglasses a lot when it was too bright," said Vikki, 29.

Her parents would sometimes drive her back and forth from school several times a day so she could go home for a sleep.

But despite her illness Vikki remained determined to complete her education. After spending two years volunteering for the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust she went to Cardiff University where special arrangements were made for her to spread out her zoology degree over five years.

In the February of her final year, after trying numerous therapies including reflexology, acupuncture and dietary changes, Vikki finally tried the Lighting Process, an alternative therapy incorporating hypnotherapy and neuro-linguistic programming.

"On the first day I was thinking ‘This is a load of mumbo jumbo’," said Vikki. "But the next morning I took the dog for a walk up the hill, which I had never done before.

"Basically I was totally cured, I couldn’t really believe it. I wouldn’t want to say it is a miracle cure because it might not work for everyone, but it did for me and it’s worth a try."

Desperate to make up for lost time, Vikki spent two years working to save up the money to travel and last year she climbed Snowdon.

Later this month she will leave for Costa Rica to carry out research during the turtle breeding season.

"I do feel like I completely missed out on part of my teenage years," said Vikki. "When I look back it is like another life. I don’t know if it will ever come back but it is not a concern of mine now, I’m just making up for everything I missed."