Constant studying, late afternoon training in the rain, long game nights, and doctor visits to max out a schedule. Gracie Mckenna is a student who knows this schedule all too well. Mckenna is a junior at Lakota East High School whose goal has been to become part of the lacrosse variety team since she was a little girl despite the fact that she has been battling an average teenager’s life and a chronic disease that impairs mobility and her everyday life; POTS.
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, otherwise known as POTS, is a condition that causes a number of symptoms due to the transition from lying down to standing up, such as a fast heart rate, dizziness and fatigue.
Mckenna said that she was diagnosed with POTS in the fourth grade. There had been a lot of suspicion surrounding her and her health status. That suspicion led to her eventual diagnosis, changing her life forever.
Growing up, Mckenna had a love for lacrosse and sports in general, being a fairly active kid with the rest of her family. After her diagnosis, however, she had to sit on the side bench and watch her peers progress. Most of her middle school years consisted of watching from the side lines, yet she was determined to get back onto the field.
“Soccer and volleyball just never worked out for me. I was never coordinated enough for either of them,” Mckenna told Spark. “But, in lacrosse, I can use my hands in a way that feels right for me to excel. It uses your brain in a way that just makes me so happy.”
Having a chronic illness and suddenly coming back into a passion of hers allows for a different level of motivation. It is not easy, though, and she perseveres through the pain, hiding more than people may know.
“It affects me in standing, going up stairs, and I get fatigued by doing simple tasks. It really affects me in lacrosse, since there’s so much running and physical activity,” said Mckenna. “The one thing I really enjoyed was taken away from me, and I just didnt know why at the time, but now I know why, and I’m going to take it back.”
She packs up her lacrosse bags, and her medication along with it. She gets in the car and heads to lacrosse practice. No matter what kind of day she is having, she gets back up and keeps going.
