About a year ago, I started having dizzy spells. At the time, I thought nothing of it. I thought it probably was normal. I was convinced it was something that could be pushed through and forgotten about because I assumed it would go away. Little did I know, it was about to become much worse. I started to get blurred vision and after that came the collapsing, it was as if I had no control of what was happening to me anymore. I felt like I was trapped inside a dark space with no way to help myself or know what was happening to me.
These “Phase outs,” as I started to call them, left me disoriented, confused, and terrified of what was happening. Once a month turned into once a week, which became once a day, and eventually multiple full black
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What many didn’t realize was I was trying so hard to fight my problem so that I could dance. I endured blood draws and countless tests so that I could continue to follow my passion. With the love and support of my parents, we found a doctor who genuinely wanted to help me, and did everything they could to help me recover while still being able to dance. All I wanted was to feel myself again, to be in control, and to feel stable rather than a whirlwind of anxiety and emotion. After eight months of dizzy spells, blurred vision, black outs, mood swings, rashes, severe dehydration, and collapsing, there was a discovery. All of my symptoms had a common source, a medication I had started taking. This medicine was supposed to help my asthma and had, but it also gave me something so much worse. I was ecstatic I would finally be myself again. I could dance my heart out again.
Due to my determination to get better, fueled by my dedication towards dance and with the assistance and support of some caring people, I was able to conquer my nightmare. I was able to compete at all of our dance competitions this season, as well as help my team place first at many of them. It has been five months since I’ve had a full “phase out” and I am happily pursuing my dream as a