Remember me?
I’m the girl with big ambitions who refuses to allow my illnesses to get in the way.
Within two months of being diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), just a few months shy of a year ago, I set out on a journey to raise awareness and hope through art.
Spoonspirations – my chronic illness, chronic hope: awareness apparel company uses all its money to fund my non profit.
It’s crazy to think this all started almost a year ago and how much progress can be made in a year. In this almost-one-year I’ve seen nine doctors, I’ve tried over 23 different medicines (I lost count after that many), I can’t even tell you how many vials of blood and tests I’ve had or how many times I was told it was “all in my head” or “it’s just anxiety”. But what no doctor or test can tell me is how much I’ve grown and learned despite my illness or how the unfortunate experience with my illness has made me a better and more understanding human being.
Another thing I’ve learned is how ambitious you can be and how much you can shine despite all the “bad” things going on in your life.
Call me crazy, but I also learned to be thankful for my illness. Without my illness I would probably be off living my life working at Walt Disney World and doing normal people things like having a life and living it. But instead I was home and got to spend time with family and appreciate what really matters (like spending my grandma’s last few months with her). I still haven’t been able to work but this week I’m finally going to try getting back into dance and yoga. I might only last five minutes – and that’s ok! But I refuse to let POTS rule my life and I refuse to let doctors tell me what I can and cannot do.
