Walking & Cycling 500km in October for POTS
I will be aiming to walk/cycle 500km during the month of October
During the month of October, my goal is to walk/cycle 500km to help raise funds for the Australia POTS Foundation.
As an Exercise Physiologist who works every day with people who have POTS, our company, Lofty Health & Wellness will match every donation dollar-for-dollar, up to the full $1000 goal.
What if you went to get up one day, but couldn't? This is an all too familiar scenario for many people living with POTS.
People suffering from POTS miss out on so much of life and then become the missing. The Australian POTS Foundation helps to sponsor research into POTS and provide advocacy so people living with POTS can get the treatment and support they need.
Even the smallest amount will help to build a better future for those with POTS in Australia. Your donation will be used to:
- Develop POTS educational material for the general public, clinicians, patients and their carers.
- Run patient and clinician education sessions and support medical research into POTS.
- Provide PhD ‘top-up’ scholarships in order to attract Australia’s best young minds into the field of POTS research.
- Fund community engagement activities that benefit those with POTS in Australia.
- Provide advocacy for better recognition and provision of POTS treatment in Australia.
What Is POTS?
POTS is a common form of Dysautonomia - a condition of the autonomic nervous system which largely affects women of child-bearing age but can be experienced by both men and women of any age.
The autonomic nervous system controls many of the ‘unconscious’ functions of the body including:
- Heart rate and blood pressure regulation
- Bladder regulation
- Gut movement and digestion
- Sweating
- Temperature control
- Stress responses (fight or flight)
This explains why those with POTS often present with a vast array of seemingly unrelated symptoms such as fatigue, headache, gut disturbance, dizziness, pain, poor concentration and light-headedness.
POTS is associated with high levels of social, economic and health burden. A health related quality of life in POTS comparison was documented in the research recently (see figure below) by Seeley et al 2023: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-023-00955-9.
Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.
Organizer
Caelum Schild
Organizer
Greenhill, SA
THE AUSTRALIAN POTS FOUNDATION LTD
Beneficiary