Spoonie Stories: Lara Cooper
My journey begun in 2022 when I was at a friend's house and passed out 4 times. Her sister is a nurse and I had a BP of 60/50 and a HR of 175 so she took me to the ER where my BP was as low as about 30/40 and my HR was over 220 and I went into SVT. I was put on defib pads and O2 because that was low.
There I lost function and feeling of my legs.
During the 3 week stay in 2 hospitals I was diagnosed with POTS and FND. Since then I've been diagnosed with lots of other things including: benign brain tumour, hEDS, complex pain syndrome, and a variety of other comorbitities.
Getting diagnosed has been really hard and I'm suspected of having gastroparesis, MCAS, and pure automatic failure, but my regular GP is really good. Treatment journey has been hard and I did the maths the other day that I've tried over 150 medications and currently take over 20 tablets a day to keep me functioning.
Other treatment includes physiotherapy and hormone therapy/monitoring. Living with chronic illness is hard at times, because I'm 17 and wish I could have my teenage years back, and I've lost lots of friends along the way, but I'm alive and living which I'm grateful for.
I'm currently studying nursing and going into biological medicine at university next year. I do MMA (Maui Thai, Boxing, Karate) which I enjoy and I also attend my local Cadet unit as a Cadet Sergeant. I also work part time.
I hope by sharing my journey that other chronically ill people won't feel so alone, but that I also raise awareness in people who aren't chronically ill and help break the stigma of chronic illness.
Disclaimer: This is simply the story of Lara’s personal experiences with chronic illnesses. This blog is not to be taken as medical advice. If you have any medical concerns, always seek the help of a doctor or licensed medical professional.
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