Hi, everyone!
I'm Emily. Not really sure if I'm doing this right or not. *sheepish grin* I'm 17, and I have POTS, and some other crazy stuff, like Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. =P
Um, I don't really know if I should be starting with an introduction or just throwing my life into the ocean without a care, so I guess I'll do both. I'm an avid book reader, I write a lot, and I have three younger siblings. I want to become either a chronic illness counselor or a college-level English professor, though I think a lot of my family still thinks I want to be a cardiologist.
I've actually been doing pretty well, symptom-wise. I dunno if it's like this for everyone, but usually, I'll have some symptoms 24/7 but on the lower level, like 4-5/10, and then I'll get "episodes" where they ratchet up to like a 10. I actually made it through an entire week of school without leaving early! (I think. With the brain fog, I have trouble remembering if I made it to school or not.) I only take 3 classes for school: Honors Physics, AP Lit, and Shakespeare.
The past two days, though, have been pretty crappy. I've caught a bad cold from my aunt, so my blood pressure's legit been EVERYWHERE. Who needs roller coasters?! Haha. Lots of chest pain, too, which is a little unusual because it's been a good couple of months since I've had it. Usually it's just bad discomfort, or other symptoms. =P Last night, I woke up at around 3am from a nightmare (side-effect of a med, ugh) and I was having difficulty breathing because the chest pain was so bad. *shakes head* Oh, well. I mean, I've been doing pretty well, otherwise. *wry grin*
My siblings are always so busy. I dunno how they do it. 0.o My sister's at a hockey game tonight, but she was out all day today shopping, and has been in and out of the house all week. My youngest brother had two sleepovers in a row, and my other brother had two basketball games today. *shakes head* Whereas here I am-I go to school for three hours and I'm wiped out. I went to the library yesterday for an hour, then came home and read all day, and I'm literally set to sleep for 100 years. It's exhausting dealing with the real world!
Okay, so Rhianne told me the questions I need to answer, so I guess I'll do that now.
What subjects are compulsory for you?
Huh. Okay, well, right now, I technically only need half a semester of English, and a year of Math. My school's been pretty awesome, so I've been lucky with extensions, absences, etc. I really, really love English, though, so I'm taking AP Lit (not taking the final test, though. I just found out the college I'm going to doesn't accept them, so I'm a little ticked. I took the AP Lang test last year, which was like, $90, and I got a 4, so all that studying was for nothing) which is an okay class. I'm not a big fan of the essays-brain fog and writing does not mix. I turned in one to my teacher once, only to have him pull me aside the next day concerned and frightened, because I had written one sentence three times and then I had added another word at the end two times and my handwriting went from really, really neat (people think my papers are typed when I write them) to spaced out and kinda like how a toddler's handwriting looks. He thought I'd had a stroke or something. I love the books, though. We just started reading Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (recommend it to anyone who reads) and I devoured it.
I'm also taking Shakespeare, which is just-you know, studying his works and stuff. It's really easy, and fun. My teacher's a blast. In March or April, we might be going to Chicago to see a few plays. I'm excited and nervous. I've had episodes hours away from people who actually know what to do, and it's not fun.
Aaaand then there's Honors Physics, which I'm taking for math credit. Pre-Calc would've been too hard to keep up with when I'm absent every day. Now, don't get me wrong. LOVE physics. It's really interesting-especially when using it with outer space-did you know there is gravity in space? But my teacher? He doesn't make it easy for me. NO NOTES. Absolutely none. I'm not even kidding. It's all labs. He writes the equations up on the board for tests and stuff, but doesn't give notes, and no one writes them down. They're there to hear him explain how to use the equation. More often than not, I'm not there. -_- So. Yeah. Not my favorite class.
What is your preferred exercise?
Er, okay, so I wasn't sure if this is exercise, like, walk/run/strength/yoga etc, or exercise, like, math problems, so I guess I'll answer both?
Exercising like runrunrun isn't much of a feature in my life. I try to do ~30 seconds to a minute of plank/squats/push-ups, and stretches every morning, but if I try to walk my dog, you'll find me collapsed in my room 5 seconds upon my return, or sometimes even in the bathtub, blinking uncertainly-I'll have fallen in while brushing my hair back. My doctor tried to sign me up for Cardiac Rehab, which lasted a few months, but did nothing to help at all. It was funny, though. There was me, then about 9 men at least 5 times my age. =P I've always wanted to take a kickboxing class, though, and I used to do softball and fencing. I miss softball like a missing limb. *sighs*
Now, if we're talking exercise, like, class, or question, or something-you know, I'm not really sure what it could be, but-*shrugs* My favorite class would have to be Shakespeare right now. Last year, it was probably Applied Medical Research, which was like a pre-pre-med course. It was funny. We did EKGs, and my teacher was showing everyone the pattern for a heart attack, which looks like a fireman hat! And everyone's was obviously normal...And then there's me. Mine had the fireman hat! And they tried it three different times, but I still got the fireman hat pattern. So this one kid freaked and almost called 911 before I told him that was just my normal setting. They were all stupefied! I really like any writing, and I like learning in general, except maybe geography. =P
That's it, I guess! I hope I did this right! (Almost spelled that 'write'. Stupid brain fog.) I hope all of you are doing okay. =)
Oh! My question:
Hmmm. Brain fog. How bad is it for you, and what exactly do you label brain fog?
I ask this because mine's always been really bad, to the point where I've talked to my aunt for ten minutes thinking she was a random stranger who was crashing my family reunion. I can have a conversation with someone, and five minutes later, not remember what was said. I don't remember what I've done throughout the day by the time it gets dark out. My weeks are blurry. Total blankouts aren't unfamiliar to me. But I also stutter/slur my words at times, have become familiar with spoonerisms and have trouble concentrating. *shrugs* A lot of medications I can't take, because of a congenital heart defect I have left over.
Thanks for reading!
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