I am Chelsea Mulkerin, a senior at Wakefield School in The Plains, Virginia. I have always lived in Gainesville, Virginia, but went to public school until ninth grade. I plan on attending the University of Virginia in the fall. 

 

This is my experience with POTS:

            In 2015, I tripped over a ball during a soccer game, hit my head, and passed out on the field. After being rushed to the emergency room, the physician diagnosed me with a concussion. For a week, I stayed home from school and suffered from headaches and exhaustion. When these symptoms did not go away after several weeks, I went back to the doctor. The following three months consisted of countless medical appointments with specialists trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I had a sonogram of my heart, ran on a treadmill for a stress test, and tried several medications. Eventually, I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS); my simple, serene life became much more complicated.

             Before I was diagnosed with POTS, my life was relatively easy. I had not faced any difficulties until that point; I had straight A’s, I was successful at soccer, volleyball, and basketball, and I was able to do well in most everything without trying hard. Over the summers, I sat on the couch watching Netflix while eating snacks all day, stayed up until 2 am, and slept in until 11 am. I worked out only when I had team practices, mostly because I hate working out. My life was simple and perfect.

             For the past five years, my lifestyle has been completely different. First of all, I had to quit basketball. Practices from 8:40-10:00 pm were too late for me to be up. With POTS, it is essential to get a regular ten to twelve hours of sleep every night, so that meant that I could no longer stay up late and sleep in on weekends and during the summer. To prevent myself from fainting, I have been on a high-sodium diet coupled with a high intake of water. This combination is helpful because it increases blood volume, so my heart does not have to beat as fast to get blood to my head. I have been exercising every day, with few exceptions, ever since I was diagnosed. If I do not exercise, the following morning I am exhausted and low on energy. Working out also lowers my resting heart rate, which is critical because my heart beats faster than it should. Whether it is soccer or volleyball practice, or any aerobic exercise, working out for at least thirty minutes daily has positively affected my well-being. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome has transformed my life.