My Story

When I was in 7th grade I was a pretty active kid. I ran club cross country and track and I really enjoyed it. I had broken my middle school's mile record and was planning on going to the Junior Olympics at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Florida.

One day at practice running seemed to be harder and harder for me. I was starting to slow down and I had no idea why. Slowly everything in my life started slowing down. I was getting weaker and would sleep almost all day. About a month before I was supposed to run at  Junior Olympics I was diagnosed with Ebstein-barr Virus (Mono). Treatment for Mono includes getting plenty of rest and staying hydrated. The doctors predicted Mono to only last 2 weeks so I figured I would still have plenty of time to get back on track to compete. Unfortunately for me that wasn't the case.

As the days went on I felt weaker and weaker and it was hard to get out of bed. I would sleep 18+ hours a day. Time went on and I knew I wasn't getting any better and deep down I knew that I wouldn't be running at the Junior Olympics. When the doctor confirmed it, I was devastated. I had poured my heart into training for this and I knew that I wouldn't be crossing the finish line anytime soon.

As the years passed my body had never fully recovered from Mono and I was diagnosed with a chronic pain syndrome called Fibromyalgia. This is a syndrome that makes your body extremely fatigued and weak. It took a long time for me to manage this condition. I did Physical Therapy for about a year. I tried MANY medications before we finally found the right medication that worked for me. This helped me manage the symptoms of my Fibromyalgia so I wasn't in so much pain. I still wasn't able to go back to running the way I had once ran but I was able to get through a day without being in extreme pain.

My freshman year of high school was not how I imagined with COVID shutting everything down starting in March. As I entered my Sophomore year, I had a feeling it was going to be a great year. It was going to be nice to be back with my friends after a half year at home due to COVID. 

On the first day of sophomore year, everything changed yet again. I was at lunch with all my friends when all of a sudden I was unconscious. Soon I was in the hospital and I had no idea who anyone was, including my parents. Not recognizing my parents was definitely the scariest part. No one really knew what had happened and if it would happen again. Although we hoped that it would only be one time, it started happening every single day.

I spent several days in and out of hospitals and no one seemed to know what was causing these “episodes”. I couldn't feel them coming and all of the sudden I would just drop to the floor unconscious. These past few years were scary and extremely frustrating for everyone. It took doctors a long time to figure it out.

In January of 2021 I was diagnosed with something called FND (Functional Neurological Disorder). The easiest way to describe this condition is that it messes with the wiring in my brain which causes me to have non-epileptic seizures. Getting this diagnosis was one of the hardest things, because there are still so many questions surrounding the best course of treatment. I am doing my best each and every day to try and manage my symptoms, although my condition is not gone. I try to keep a positive attitude and to do things that  keep me distracted. Although at times this has brought me down, I get back up again and I am one of the strongest people you will ever meet.