“I can now get through my workday and have energy when I get home.”
This is a great testimonial about how a patient got her life back in December 2019. Megan came to us severely ill and she even had a large part of her intestines removed! Her journey over about 8 months was not easy, but she is now back to enjoying her life again. Let us help you get your life back too!
ANOTHER UPDATE 2/8/20- Megan emailed us, “I have been meaning to send you guys an email. I have started helping with the K-2 basketball program at school (after school for an hour). This coming Thursday the kids will perform at halftime of the high school game. I have been going to junior high and high school basketball games again. Last weekend Ryan and I went tubing with my brother, sister in law and my 2 nieces who are almost 2 1/2. The girls didn’t want to wait in line so we walked up the hill and tubed down. I have been having a lot of meetings at school since January. That one week I had to be there at 6:30 am for data meetings on kids. The next week I didn’t make it home until 7:00 at night. I ate lunch and supper at school. Last night was our yearly cancer benefit at school and I made it through the whole thing. Exercising around my busy schedule…and still able to eat healthy and follow the diet. My life is different now. I have been healthier all the way around.”
UPDATE January 8, 2020- Megan mailed us a beautiful letter.
Dear Dr. Driscoll and POTS Clinic Team,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It has been six months since my visit to your wonderful, caring team. You have changed my life for the positive, and I am so happy for that. A lot of different in my life because of you all. Thank you so much. I can now get through my workday and have energy when I get home. I can even make the long days, without a problem. I feel like my brain is functioning way better than it was in the past, and I am better able to hep the students that I work with. I feel more on my game this year and actually have energy to teach.
Some other major changes: I didn’t get sick until November. I usually get sick right away in September and many times throughout the fall and winter. Here is another first for me…I am sick right now and Ryan gave it to me. I am the one who is usually sick first and I give him the colds. It feels so great to be off all that medication that I didn’t need to take. I love being able to sleep through the night and not wake up with hot flashes or anything. I can ride in vehicles for hours and not get motion sickness anymore. On Labor Day we attended our hometown parade and carnival. My nieces wanted to go down big slides, and it was super hot. I was able to climb stairs to the top of the slide and go down. The heat didn’t make me sick. After we were done at the carnival and while the girls napped, my brother, his wife, my cousin, his girlfriend Ryan and myself went for a long wheeler rider and we might have even had a little race.
I have more energy and can do things that I enjoy. I went to a high school basketball game, and I was able to sit in the gym with the noise and not get sick. I was able to enjoy the game. I plan on attending more in the near future. My brother (Matt), his wife (Michelle), myself and Ryan; plan on attending a Green Bay Packer game in the fall. Something I would not have been able to do in the past because of the noise and atmosphere would have made my POTS act up. I can keep up with my 2 year old twin nieces, and not pay for it the next day. In the past they would wear me out for a few days after I was around them. For the nine-day hunting season up here in Wisconsin, Ryan and I stayed in our camper in my parents yard. My brother and his wife stayed in their camper as well. When everyone was hunting and my mom was at work, I took care of my nieces and the three dogs. I wasn’t even tired after that. I was able to brave the crowds and go Black Friday shopping with my family, and not need a nap after it like before. When we went and found our Christmas tree this year, the snow was deep and we had to walk in mid-calf deep snow. It was tiring but after everyone got their trees, we played in my mom and dad’s yard with my nieces and my brother and his wife. We went sledding with the girls and had a snowball fight. I was able to make it through all of that, and not need to rest.
The one photo on my card is Ryan and I at a friend’s wedding. That day I was miserable. My POTS was in full flare and I was trying to put on a brave face and make it through the day. I had no fun at the wedding at all. Another picture is one you should all recognize…the Cowboy Stadium. Ryan and I took a tour when we were down there. The Cowboys were his favorite team when he was little. The tour was rough on my body but Ryan enjoyed it. He blames me for the season they are having this year. He said I brought them bad luck. Sorry guys! Another picture of Ryan and myself was taken at the Lee Brice concert on the Saturday on my way home from my time with you. It was a good concert. I had fun and enjoyed it. I was feeling a little sick with my POTS symptoms, and would love to try another concert again now that I am better. Then there is a picture with Ryan, myself, and our nieces. We went with my brother and his wife to Duluth for a day to take them to the aquarium. This was in March, before I visited you. That was not fun on my body. I was sick for a few days after that. The last picture is of our dog and cat. What trouble makers they are! You should really fell bad for Ryan, because the more I start to feel better the more stuff we do. We are on the run more, and he is having a hard time keeping with me. I say I am aging in reverse. I feel better than I have in a long time, and it is all thanks to you.
The lifestyle change hasn’t been hard to do at all. I can tell when I don’t stick to it, because I can feel symptoms coming back and then I must rest more. As long as I stick to the lifestyle changes we talked about and the diet I do well. Thanks for helping me get my life back.
Enjoy the holidays, and I hope all is well with you. Thanks for everything.
UPDATE 9/23/19– Megan emailed us, “Good news…I made it through a crazy busy week last week. In the evenings, I wasn’t even tired. I was still able to do stuff at home. Come Friday night, after supper, I was tired though. I went to bed at my normal time. When I woke up on Saturday at my normal time, I was still a little tired so I took a nap and I have been fine since. Thursday night my mom and I took our dog for a walk. It was half an hour. I was tired when we got back. I held Moose’s leash and boy did he tug! Everyone at school keeps telling me how disciplined I am when it comes to my diet because I don’t eat stuff I am not supposed to right now. They have asked and I say no. The goodies can sit in my classroom and I still don’t eat them. The stress of work hasn’t bothered me either. My episodes have been kept under control.”
UPDATE 9/4/19– Megan emailed us, “I have more good news! This weekend I was on the go all the time. My family was building a ramp and lifting a deck for a relative. I was in charge of watching my twin nieces (who will be 2 in October). They were on the go constantly, my schedule was off for everything, and so was my sleep schedule. I survived. Monday was my town’s Labor Day celebration…..we were outside all day and the heat didn’t even bother me. I was even able to drive the ATV (gator) and not have any problems when we went on a ride. In the past, I would not have been able to do the outside thing all day long at all. So I can say things are going in the right direction. I was exhausted after the weekend but was able to function at work yesterday.”
