Laura

When people look at me, I look healthy, happy and normal (in the medical sense of the word)  but behind all of that, I’m constantly facing an uphill battle to stay upright, stay awake, control my heart rate, maintain a healthy blood pressure, string a sentence together, remember things, and regulate my body temperature.

Sometimes just getting out of bed is as much physical exertion as my body can tolerate. Today I have started a new treatment for the condition I’ve suffered with since I was 14 years old; PoTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). I have to visit the Countess of Chester hospital every other week for 9 hours so that saline solution can be administered through a cannula in my arm, with the hope that it increases my blood volume, blood oxygen, blood pressure and helps to stabilise my erratic heart rate.

The recent decline in my health has led to me having to step away from my job as a primary school teacher and take on a part time role in a different sector of education, so that I can accommodate my treatment. Something I’ve found really hard to come to terms with.

The reason for this long post? I’m SO fed up of people thinking that there is nothing wrong with me. I didn’t choose to have a dodgy immune system, the sickness life chose me, but I do know how fortunate I am not to have anything sinister wrong with me. After sitting for hours surrounded by people having chemotherapy their unwavering positivity and optimism is humbling. 

Moral of the story? Just be kind to people. You don’t know what someone is going through in their private life. Try and understand them, help them, support them, love them.