Serendipitous Girl

October 26, 2016 Homecoming, coupled with the change in weather, sent Jayde's POTS into a tailspin. No matter how sick she has felt, she has attempted to work on her writing and schoolwork almost every day. She spent the good part of her birthday violently ill, hugging a trash can for seven hours, with her resting heart rate hovering at 160 BPM. Watching all this unfold and the resistance from some of her teachers to recognize her ADA 504 plan prompted the following thoughts this morning.  Humans are creatures of habit. Most individuals do not welcome change with open arms. It is not a character flaw. It is simply the way we were created. Reflecting on the past several years, I see life has become a proverbial roller coaster, with peaks and valleys, unexpected twists and turns. We have mastered the art of riding the peaks and work hard to find the silver linings, especially when we are in the valleys. However, sometimes, the unexpected twists and turns can be challenging to navigat...

This post was written in the summer of 2016. It is the recognizable beginning of Jayde's Journey. Little did I know when I wrote it that POTS should have been the least of our worries, but each time I read it, so much makes sense. I was sitting in my kitchen, talking with two dear friends, and they encouraged me to share the recent journey our family has experienced. From this conversation, I knew I needed to share Jayde's journey. Thus, #jrsjourney grew wings. This post is a mother's/caregiver's view of what living with POTS is like. I once believed our journey began the first week of November 2009, when Jayde became ill with the Swine Flu, but the swine flu only made the invisible more visible. Jayde was two when she had her first migraine. When I was six, I encountered my first one. So, I knew how debilitating and horrible they were. At first, the thought that she could be experiencing a migraine at the age of two did not seem possible. Until she said, "Mommy, t...