Hi

Hi I am Jessica Cunningham and this is my Blog. The purpose of writing this is to let friends and family know what has happened to me, what is going on presently in my life and why I sometimes seem so depressed and/or distant.

I figured the best place to start was with a quick overview, which happens to be from my profile so if you read the whole thing there is no need to read this :)

I am a 26 year old female suffering from multiple neurological illnesses and autonomic dysfunctions. I have Myalgic Encephalomyelitis "M.E." (which is a form of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that includes severe and extremely debilitating pain), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome "POTS" (which means my blood pressure doesn't regulate correctly and for me I don't get enough blood or for that matter oxygen to my brain), I also have Hypovolemia (which is low blood volume, caused by my cells not absorbing hydration by mouth), and Fybromyalgia (sever muscle pain and skin painful to the touch)

That is who I am now, but to understand this blog you need to know who I used to be:
I was an extremely athletic and competitive child. I started dancing at age 4, I started traveling to other countries at 7 the same age at all of 60 pounds I decided I was going to lift people twice my weight off the ground (something I continued doing for most of my life). I was on my summer swim team and a junior life guard. I used to get into fights in middle school (but most will tell you it was to protect others). I was the first and only girl on my high school wrestling team. I was one of the first girls in country officially on a men's collegiate wrestling team. I used to bench press 160 and squat 250 max and I weighed 110 at the time. I trained for 4 years, first in PLC then in NROTC, to be a Marine Officer (the only thing I have ever really wanted to do with my life).
I was in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M when I first got sick and all of that changed. Now I am lucky if I can get out 5-10 push ups and 10 weightless squats, many days I can't even walk let alone try to exercise. I spend about 70% of my time overall on my couch, I rarely get out and don't have all that many visitors but I figure I have gone from the outgoing protector to the needy and depressing shut in so I don't blame people too much.