Childhood Maladies

I was sickly, early on, with ear infections and sinus issues which lasted into adulthood. Eventually, I got strep every year, instead, and had my tonsils removed in '09.

I'm the most flexible person I know. I could turn both feet all the way around, facing the other direction, at the same time. I could hold a broom handle in front of me with both hands, and raise it over my head and behind my back without letting go. I could place my feet behind my head whilst laying down on the floor on my back. I could touch the back of my head with my feet whilst laying on my tummy. My fingers are elastic- bending at 90 degrees at the top knuckle.

I had 'growing pains' a lot- mostly in my legs.

I had such sensitive skin, sitting in the bathtub would wear out the top layer of skin- it burned like crazy.

In gradeschool I developed tummy troubles, and began eliminating foods from my diet.

I recall going to the ER in 3rd grade for an Xray of my knee, which showed nothing wrong. It popped so louldy in P.E. that my teacher heard it, and suggested a dr. visit.

I was tiny and gangly with see-through skin. Kids called my legs 'roadmaps', and they truly looked as such.

I've always been sensitive to heat and cold- including weather and water.

In my teens, I had my first 'panic attack', or so we thought. They lasted into my twenties. In retrospect, POTS seems more likely.

Headaches were common.

All of these symptoms stuck with me over my lifetime. I grew used to them, and decided it was my normal. Eventually, they overwhelmed me, thus leading to the search for a deeper meaning and a connection to all of these differential symptoms being one and the same.