“We have done it all together.”

I took a good look at my personal journey with POTS and purposefully chose individuals in different chapters of my life to help tell my story.

These individuals helped me to navigate what I didn’t know at the time was living POTS Strong.

Meet Jaim. My brown eyed girl and lifetime partner in crime.

What was it like to have a friend with POTS? Was it hard to understand? Did you feel helpful?

Reflecting back to the beginning before we really knew that POTS was the diagnosis, I remember feeling afraid. Probably odd to say being that I wasn’t the person who was physically ill or dealing with any of the side effects. I was a teenager who felt helpless while watching my childhood friend struggle. I can vividly remember repeatedly checking my email during the day in hopes of updates from Kait from Mayo Clinic.  It was confusing trying to understand how my very active, vivacious, healthy classmate had her world turned upside down in such a short time frame. 

When you first heard the term POTS, what were your thoughts? 

I first read of POTS in an email from Kait when she was diagnosed. I had NO idea what it meant but I felt relief in knowing that there was confirmation of what was happening to her. No more mystery illness! YAY! In my head, we now had a true diagnosis, therefore there HAD to be a “treatment”. Little did I know, there was not and is not a “treatment”. No cure all. No magical fix. No special potion to take and revert back to old ways. I should have known that this wouldn’t be an acceptable answer for Kait. POTS would not define her. Over the next years I was witness to the grit and determination she used to forge her way back to health. 

What is your take on the power of exercise, nutrition and mindfulness aka the POTS Strong Method?

Homecoming dances, sports events, weddings, pregnancies, girls’ trips. We have done it all together and I have seen POTS rear its head on numerous occasions. Seeing firsthand how exercise, nutrition and mindfulness can be such powerful tools in the ongoing battle against POTS. We know the importance of a healthy diet and exercise, Kait has done so well with those things. I believe you can exercise to your hearts content, eat the cleanest diet known to man (obviously with an extra dash of salt.)  But if you don’t have the right mindset, the struggles will still drag you down. It would have been very easy for Kait to let the everyday battles associated with POTS rob her of her joy. Kait NEVER let that happen, her positive mindset is so strong.