From setback to strength: Heritage Academy senior’s fight through POTS
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – WCBI is continuing coverage of the nominees for the Accepting the Challenge of Excellence Award.
The A.C.E. award is for a student who has excelled through hardship in their life. The nominee for Heritage Academy was senior Sophie Milam.
Soccer has been a huge part of Sophie’s life since she was 4 years old.
“It was kind of a way for me to be validated in a way,” Milam said. “I think I’ve always been kind of an athletic child. So, soccer for me was a way to show everybody, ‘this is me, this is what I do. I play soccer.’ So, it’s kind of been a part of my personality. It’s kind of where I found myself, I think.”
Sophie says it was always her plan to play college soccer. But in the 8th grade, everything changed.
She started to experience unexplained dizziness, fatigue, and a racing heart. She says she brushed off the symptoms at first, but it became harder to ignore, and she needed answers.
After years of searching for answers, Sophie was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS, which affects the nervous system and can cause rapid heart rate, dizziness, fatigue, and fainting.
This condition was hard on her physically, and began to take a toll mentally as well.
“In my mind, it felt like a setback because I kind of had to reevaluate everything and think about what that meant for my future. I realized my body physically was probably not going to be able to handle the things that come with college soccer,” Milam said.
POTS caused Sophie to spend many of her evenings in the hospital. However, she says having a diagnosis was validating.
There is no cure for POTS, but Sophie underwent a cardiac ablation to help manage her symptoms.
What felt like a setback and frustration soon turned into fascination.
After long hours at appointments, she became more interested in looking into becoming a pediatric physician.
She says her doctor inspired her because he never brushed off her symptoms and always acknowledged how she was feeling.
“Just the way he validated me made me feel like, ‘Oh, I want to be able to do that for other kids one day,’ and validate the way they feel and make them feel like they have someone there for them to help and care for them when they are going through similar medical conditions,” Milam said.
She says this experience has taught her a lot about herself.
“I think I’ve kind of had to take a step back and realize I’m not always going to be able to do things on my timeline,” Milam said. “So, I’ve had to put a lot of trust in God. With just determination and having to get through it, I’ve still been playing soccer. I’ve been having to manage my symptoms and things like that. But just going through the whole process has taught me just having so much determination in myself and finding out how much I can do and how much I am capable of with this condition.”
Sophie plans to attend Mississippi State University in the Fall and eventually go to medical school. Right now, she is interested in the field of cardiology or oncology, specializing in pediatrics.
Sophie is still on the pitch as a goalkeeper for the Heritage Academy soccer team.
