End of Course Blues

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for the Georgia Milestones End of Course Tests. BLEH. 😖  I get horrible testing anxiety which makes my heart do crazy things & then I become severely ill. Especially when the dumb school doesn't tell you anything & you're walking in imagining every worst case scenario... "What if I go to the wrong class?? What if they stare or laugh at me? What if I faint?" etc etc etc. I got to my first period & thank God she read out the schedule. I went to 209 which is my math classroom! I was so happy because I actually knew where I was going & didn't have to attempt to read the door numbers when I'm legally blind. haha.

When I went in, it was my math teacher who was administering! I was relieved because I hate explaining my "medical conditions" to new people who look at you like you're speaking French or something. It was the Lit exam parts 1 & 2 which was multiple choice & short answer. It was a breeze! Essay is tomorrow and I'm a little nervous but not too much. It turns out our whole class had to start late because they forgot my large print test when I had already reminded the vice principal twice. Oh well because I wasn't going to take that test on regular print & strain my eyes/give myself a migraine. I got my extended time though, but I only needed like 15 minutes of it. After that was over, I was feeling quite poorly, so I chugged some smartwater. lol.

After tomorrow, I won't have to worry about tests until Monday when I take the U.S. History End of Course (which is being administered by the art teacher who doesn't know about my illnesses). Oh well, I'll deal with that at the time. I'm working on a monologue now for debate (yes you can do monologues at debate competitions), & I'm a crazy killer who murders girls who are prettier than me. By looking at me, you'd never expect me to pick a piece like that haha. But I think it gives me a good chance of winning!☺️

I hope everyone is having a fantabulous day, & if you have any questions just click that "add comment" button below this post!

FIGHT LIKE A SPOONIE!

xoxo,
Johna

My First Post

Hi everyone!!!

I am so excited to be starting my very own blog! The purpose of my blog is to bring awareness to chronic illnesses & those who suffer from them. As my intro states, I am diagnosed with a few illnesses of my own & I would like to teach others about them. I mean - you know awareness is an issue when you tell someone "I have POTS." & they reply with "isn't that illegal?" or even the occasional "can I have some??" I LOL every time this happens! I will also be featuring other spoonies in order to share their stories.

Well here's how my battles with chronic illness started: I was born blind, due to a lack of optic nerve development (nerve that runs from the back of your eye to your brain). I gained some sight around age 1. One of the first things I saw was a butterfly & now I am utterly terrified of the creatures. I had stomach & kidney issues as a young child also. I suffered from cyclical vomiting syndrome (CVS) as well as abdominal migraines (yes that is actually a thing!) between the ages of 3-5... I vomited at least once a day during this time period. Around age 6, my health stabilized & remained fairly good until age 9 when I hit puberty. I began having migraines, shortness of breath, constant fatigue, chest pain, joint pain, dizziness, & a load of other symptoms... Then one day in February of 2014, shortly after a kidney drive removal & gallbladder removal, I woke up with a headache. It lasted 2 weeks before I finally went to the ER, where they treated me horribly (actually the night shift was okay but the day shift was terrible). I had a lumbar puncture, ultrasound, MRI - normal, normal, normal. Then they gave me Haldol. They said it was a "trial medication" for migraines but I later found out it was an ANTIPSYCHOTIC. It made me just that, except without the "anti" part. I thought I was going absolutely insane & no one seemed to care. I was discharged in that condition & haven't went back to that hospital since. Weeks later, I saw 3 different neurologists & I was diagnosed with POTS. I have since started Botox injections for my constant migraine but have had no relief.

Recently, my health has been declining. I have no energy & force myself to go to school everyday. I participated in the spring musical, "Into The Woods" this year, & almost had to drop out, which would've shattered me. I made it through, though & I will keep pushing through all my symptoms. I really hope you guys find that my blog is helpful in living with a chronic illness, & I look forward to hearing from you!

If you have ANY questions, go to that conveniently placed "add comment" button & ask away!

FIGHT LIKE A SPOONIE!

xoxo,
Johna