I've said this before, but I feel the need to repeat it now. One of the greatest things we can do in life, is give of ourselves to help others. Whether chronically ill or perfectly healthy, there is nothing better for the soul than helping to better the life of someone else. I do this by volunteering for a Foundation that helps sick children. On Saturday, we held our local annual fundraiser and it was amazing! The generosity displayed by so many absolutely takes my breath away and seeing the smiles on the faces of the children is so heart-warming. Needless to say, I completely over-did it and boy did I pay...but it was completely worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat (no pun intended)!
By the time I left the fundraiser, I literally could barely walk. Every joint in my body was in excruciating pain. This is all something new to me with this flare. I've always dealt with knee and hip pain (on and off) throughout my life. Doctors wrote it off as due to the fact that I grew so fast, but here I am well out of my growing phase and still dealing with the pain. However, with this last flare, every joint in my body is in pain. A kind of pain that is breath-taking and makes it nearly impossible to move. When I got home from the fundraiser, my hubby actually thought I had fallen and injured myself because I could barely move and had tears in my eyes.
The next day, I was getting ready for church and had an episode. Not surprising considering the hectic week before. Anyways, I had a moment of pure genius and decided to take my blood pressure during the episode (flushing face, cold sweats, racing heart, stomach ache, followed by a delightful bowel movement). I was horrified when I saw the reading: 175/124!! What!?!?! My blood pressure is always low (around 105/60)! So, I took it again and got the same reading! Within minutes of the episode ending, my blood pressure returned to normal. How crazy! I can't believe I had never thought to take my blood pressure before. I can be a bit of a worrier so I tend to avoid my numbers. When I was first diagnosed with POTS, I became a bit obsessive about my pulse and blood pressure and would FREAK if my numbers were crazy. Now, I try to leave the BP cuff in the cupboard and focus more on how I'm feeling. One of the crazy things about this chronic illness is that my vitals can look completely normal on days that I feel terrible, and my vitals can be complete crap on days that I feel great. Such a mystery! But, I feel like I'm understanding it more each day!
"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it." Proverbs 3:27
Amy
P.S.
I got my new medical bracelet and I love it! I'll do a post about it later! :-)
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