Katherine Schwind

Miss. D

English

10 September 2019

Everyone at some point in their life goes through adversities, whether it be bullies,

illness, loss or something else traumatic in their lives. We get a choice to overcome adversity or

let it over take us. When I was a freshman in highschool, I was diagnosed with POTS. This

stands for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. ​When you have POTS, changing positions

like laying to standing can cause an abnormally large increase in heart rate. Your heart rate can

go up by 30 beats or more a minute after you stand up. As that happens, your ​blood pressure​ is

likely to drop which usually makes you dizzy and faint in some cases. Other symptoms can be

trouble thinking, blurred vision, weakness, insomnia, chronic headaches, and fatigue. POTS

changed my life in many ways.

When I was first diagnosed I didn’t know how to take the news, I didn't think anything

was wrong with me. Then, getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom was a daily battle. I

never felt like myself anymore, the disease began to take over my life. I was always very

involved in sports yet even my passion for those began to slip. I was constantly fighting my mom

about not doing what the doctor wanted me to do. I remember one day my mom was trying to

make me take a walk down the street and I wouldn’t get out of bed. She called our close family

friend whose son also had this disease. She called me and told “This isn't your moms fight it
yours, do you want to get better or keep getting worse”. That's when I realized that if I wanted

my life back I had to work for it even if it wasn’t going to be easy.

Cheerleading was always my main sport since I was a little girl. I wasn’t going to let

anything stop me from doing it. Physically enduring and constantly having to flip my body

scared my doctors. After awhile my doctors and family helped me get back on my feet, I

decided this disease was not going to stop me from doing what I love and living my life to the

fullest. Practice and mainly flipping was very difficult for me in the beginning. I had low blood

sugar and would sometimes faint. Managing my health and trying to live a normal life, I had

many doctors and was constantly driving to CHOP, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Constantly being in pain and having to go to doctors gave me a new look on my future. So many

of these people were helping me get better and have a better life that I realized that’s what I

wanted to do. Being in hospitals and seeing all the good they do for kids and adults made me

want to do the same. I now know that I want to help others by being a nurse. There were so many

nurses and doctors who made my experience better and more comfortable. I want to give back

some of what I received and help others that may be going through similar situations. I have a

new perspective on illness and think I could be an asset to other kids going through similar

things.