Erin always said she liked the walk to class but every time she finally got to her seat and sat down, you could see the exhaustion all over her. People ask if she had sprinted to class and she can’t think of an excuse nor catch her breath in time to give one, so she nods her head. She smooths out her red dress and adjusts the plaid scarf she tied to her bag this morning to make it appear proper and presentable as if it were going to be displayed in the window of a high end boutique. Erin hated when her things were out of place. If she were to notice one of her coat buttons out of place while walking, she’d stop in the middle of a busy street to fix it. Her perfectionist personality was striking. Some chuckled in amusement at her quirky habits
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She knew she’d need them since there was no way she would retain the lesson from listening to the lecture. She never thought her parents would have let her leave for college. “You can’t manage your condition on your own. We can’t help you if you’re not here,” they would tell her. They weren’t entirely wrong either. Erin’s health problems were attributed to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). She was diagnosed by a specialist just after her junior year of high school and has been struggling to manage the illness ever since. She follows the specialist’s orders and takes the medication that regulates the illness every night at the same time. She knows that missing a beat will only make the next 24 hours …show more content…
She takes the long way home since walking is the only exercise she seems to have time for. The specialist emphasized the importance of exercise with her condition and she was determined to do as he told her, even if it meant being out of breath for unfathomable amounts of time. Upon returning to her apartment, she drops her black designer bag on the floor. “Every woman needs a good, structured, black designer bag in her life to accompany her on everyday excursions” she tells me. She then heads directly for her bed to lay down for as long as she can before making the fifteen minute walk to work. It always felt like she had walked miles before reaching the small pet shop where she could sit at her desk for a few hours and regain her strength. Erin’s boss was ecstatic that she loved coming to work even though she couldn’t figure out why Erin liked sitting at a desk for so long. Erin would never let on to anyone, except a select few, that there was any kind of issue that would get in the way of her life. Unfortunately, those who are not one of those few assume she either just never sleeps at night or is so introverted that it takes all of her energy just to leave her apartment. That assumption is partially true—there are few activities she can do without feeling exhausted
She knew she’d need them since there was no way she would retain the lesson from listening to the lecture. She never thought her parents would have let her leave for college. “You can’t manage your condition on your own. We can’t help you if you’re not here,” they would tell her. They weren’t entirely wrong either. Erin’s health problems were attributed to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). She was diagnosed by a specialist just after her junior year of high school and has been struggling to manage the illness ever since. She follows the specialist’s orders and takes the medication that regulates the illness every night at the same time. She knows that missing a beat will only make the next 24 hours …show more content…
She takes the long way home since walking is the only exercise she seems to have time for. The specialist emphasized the importance of exercise with her condition and she was determined to do as he told her, even if it meant being out of breath for unfathomable amounts of time. Upon returning to her apartment, she drops her black designer bag on the floor. “Every woman needs a good, structured, black designer bag in her life to accompany her on everyday excursions” she tells me. She then heads directly for her bed to lay down for as long as she can before making the fifteen minute walk to work. It always felt like she had walked miles before reaching the small pet shop where she could sit at her desk for a few hours and regain her strength. Erin’s boss was ecstatic that she loved coming to work even though she couldn’t figure out why Erin liked sitting at a desk for so long. Erin would never let on to anyone, except a select few, that there was any kind of issue that would get in the way of her life. Unfortunately, those who are not one of those few assume she either just never sleeps at night or is so introverted that it takes all of her energy just to leave her apartment. That assumption is partially true—there are few activities she can do without feeling exhausted