I breathlessly watch as a rocket blasts off from earth. Oh how absolutely exciting to watch two astronauts ascend the confines of this earth and propel into outer space. My heart leaps with joy at the thought to watch as this earth would get smaller and smaller...to see the earth from space!
Since I have been a small child, I have been fascinated by space. A lifelong dream of mine was to go to space camp. Although that still remains a dream, I have had the opportunity to visit the space centers in Florida and Texas. The thrill and excitement to be so close to the people who work to send astronauts into space was amazing!
In 2009, my health was rapidly declining. I was diagnosed with a condition called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). POTS in a nutshell is when a person's heart races very fast (usually 120 beats per minute or more) upon standing. As I was researching this ailment, I found out astronauts develop this very same medical condition from going into space. The lack of gravity makes the body "forget" what it is like to stand up against gravity. While in space, astronauts' bodies lose muscle tone and other mechanics needed to help a person stand up without developing a fast heart rate and possibly passing out. A lot of research on POTS has come from the space program.
So although I will never blast off into space, I smile when I think about POTS. If only I could be free from gravity, I could be free from POTS. As much as I do not like POTS, I find it comforting that God has given me an affliction which allows me to feel connected to the space program. When bad days threaten to overwhelm me, I remind myself, I have the astronaut condition...I just have never left earth!
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