A Personal Perspective: It took years to receive an accurate diagnosis.
The director read out loud my daughter’s excused absences: fatigue, swollen glands, sore throat, exhaustion. She looked up at me. “Are you sure we’re not talking about something else?” I responded with a detailed listing of medical tests and specialists to determine the source of my eleven-year-old’s illness. She had been unwell with a host of difficulties (Mono, Epstein-Barr, swollen spleen and glands, fevers) since age four. Now, entering adolescence, her medical challenges had worsened, leaving her pale, listless, and often dizzy. How could anyone question the validity of her ailments?
The director was silent. Then she leaned across her desk, looked at me closely, and said, “Breathe.”