Safe With Me

Chapter 4

Mia's POV

Finally, it's morning. I couldn't be more excited to go back to set. I grabbed my mini backpack and packed it up. All of my medicines, Zofran, Hyoscyamine, salt sticks (Basically just salt in a capsule), fludrocortisone, and then my Liquid IV, and a fresh bottle of water. I checked the time, and it was 6:42, she will be here any minute. I decided I didn't want my dad answering the door, so I went to wait outside. After just a minute of waiting, I saw Danielle's car pull up. I got up slowly and walked to the car, getting in. "Good morning Mia. How are you doing?" She asked me.

"I'm good. How are you?" I asked. 

"I'm doing great, especially now that we all get to see your amazing acting today. Do you want anything from Starbucks?" 

"I haven't ever gotten anything there before. I don't know what I'd like. Also, I didn't bring any extra money."

"Well it's my treat, and I can help you decide. Do you like more fruity, or more sweet like caramel or chocolate?"

"Probably fruity." I said, starting to fidget with the bracelet on my wrist. It's the bracelet that my mom gave me for my 5th birthday, before she died. Of course a different chain, but the same special charms. 

"What's your favorite fruit?"

"Hmmmm, strawberries." I said.

"Do you want to try the pink drink? I bet you would like it. It's coconut milk with strawerrry syrup and strawberies in it."

"Sure, that sounds good." I said, hesitantly accepting her offer. We drove to Starbucks and she asked me if I wanted her to order for me, and of course I said yes. There is no way that I would be able to order for myself. She ordered me a pink drink and herself a caramel macchiato, and once that was done we headed back to the car. She handed me the drink and I tasted it. It. Was. Delicious.

"This is amazing. Thank you." I said.

"No problem. I'll get you Starbucks any time you want, plus it's an excuse for me to get some too." She said. I slowly sipped on my drink, debating if I should tell Danielle the truth about why I fainted. 

"I probably owe you an explanation."

"For what?"

"Why I fainted."

"You know why you fainted?" She asked me.

"Yeah. I have a chronic illness called Dysautonomia or POTS. So basically I get really dizzy and nauseous, fatigued, I can't really regulate my body temperature, I always have a really high heart rate. If I had to guess I would say right now my heart rate is probably about 117." I said. I looked down to my watch to see how close I was to guessing my heart rate. "120, pretty close. I've gotten pretty good at guessing my heart rate by now. When I passed out it was probablly because I forgot to take my salt sticks and I didn't use my Liquid IV."

"Ok I have so many questions."

"Everyone always does. List them off for me."

"Ok so when did you get diagnosed? And what are salt sticks and Liquid IV? And does this relate to your bad nose bleed the other day?"

"Ok first off those are the most respectful questions ever. Most people just ask if I'm faking it, or doing it for attention, but those are actually good questions. So I was only diagnosed last year. Most of my doctors always said that it's just anxiety, which is sadly a very common misdiagnosis of POTS. Until I met this one doctor. She was so nice and actually listened to what I was saying before jumping to conclusions. And then your second question, salt sticks are basically just capsules filled with salt. It really helps with lightheadedness and low blood pressure. And Liquid IV is kind of similar. It's kinda like a Gatorade but it helps a lot more. And my nose bleed was not related to this. I have chronic nose bleeds as well."

"Ok wow, that's a lot. I'm so sorry you have to deal with all of that."

"It's fine, I'm used to it by now." I said, taking a sip of my drink. I was still incredibly sore from what happened yesterday, but I'm also used to that, but there is no way I will tell Danielle that.

Note

Double update today! I hope you are enjoying so far! I will be on vacation until next sunday so don't expect an update this week, but I will be sure to update when I get back. I also hope that you have learned something so far from this story, because all of this knowledge about dysautonomia and nose bleeds are from my personal experience and I love for people to be able to get educated on my condition. Also thank you so much for 100 reads <3