Cathy is an energetic woman that spends a lot of time outdoors before she starts feeling ill and is told she has the flu and then Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The symptoms keep developing to the point where she's constantly in pain and can barely move, while doctors are at a loss as to what's causing this. Tamara is active in the fantasy convention circuit but soon starts experiencing pain that is anything but fictional. Her bloating and stomach pain is diagnosed by her doctor as a hernia and she is told to lose weight and she'll be fine. But she is not feeling fine and what she is eventually diagnosed with turns out to be a nightmare.