Opinion
Kids Passing Out: “This is Not Normal… No Amount of Gaslighting Will Make it So.”
Dear DailyClout,
I am the uniform coordinator (aka Uniform Mom) for my youngest daughter’s high school marching band. This is my ninth consecutive year in that role, and in that time, I’ve known over a thousand band kids (9th – 12th grade). Starting two years ago, we have had band students who cannot stay on their feet. Mostly girls, but a few boys. Fainting episodes with any physical exertion, when standing for awhile, when walking in the halls at school, when climbing stairs – you name it. It’s happening during normal daily activities as well as during marching rehearsals.
In previous years we would have one or two kids pass out during band camp in the summer – it’s hot in Texas, so we kind of expected that. Now, we’re talking about 4-5 PER football game or PER competition. This year our band has 289 kids and we have at least 4 girls and 1 boy that have either been diagnosed with POTS or are wearing a heart monitor for “further evaluation.” Constantly passing out for no reason (not hot, not dehydrated, not overly exerted).
Everyone just shrugs their shoulders and says “I wonder what’s going on?” I wonder! What changed two years ago? Why the sudden increase in otherwise perfectly healthy teenagers just suddenly passing out?
Another example – one of my best friend’s sons is a football player. He started passing out at games just standing on the sidelines. This also happened in class while he was sitting at his desk. His cardiologist says POTS is extremely common in growing boys. Really? Since when? Not common in the thousands of teenagers I’ve known over the last nine years up until the last 18 months to two years.
I would have commented on your post for others to read, but wanted to protect these students’ anonymity & because it’s happening so often, that everyone who knows me would know who these kids are.
Thank you for being fearless in reporting this. As a mom, I know this is not normal. No amount of gaslighting or pretending it’s normal will make it so.
Sincerely,
A Reader
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