"Episode" 1

 I don't remember the exact date my symptoms started, but it was around the middle of April 2021. My friends and I traveled down to Springfield for a much-needed hangout. I remember feeling so much pressure in my head, fogginess, dizziness, and general disorientation. I did my best to push through it. Looking at the picture below, I can see on my face that I'm feeling off. 

This first episode lasted around 2 weeks. Dizziness every day, more brain fog...with no relief. My first appointment with a doctor resulted in a diagnosis of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV. I was prescribed meclizine and sent on my way. My episodes of dizziness ebbed and flowed. Some days I woke up feeling "normal" and others were filled with dizziness. That first summer was tough and was only the beginning. The daily dizziness eventually lessened and I experienced more days of "normal" than not, and 2021 turned into 2022. 

2022 brought with it new challenges in the health department, but also a new job! As 2021 ended, I landed my dream position - Education Instructor at the Kansas City Zoo. Everything I'd been working toward career-wise had lined up and brought me to where I had always wanted to be. During the first 4-5 months of 2022, I was thriving. My health was great, the dizziness had nearly disappeared, and my relationships with my family and friends were better than ever. But as winter turned to spring and spring turned into summer, the dizziness gradually returned. Why was my dizziness worse in the summer months? Did warm weather have anything to do with it? These were questions I brought up to my primary doctor and we decided that with these new variables, BPPV was NOT my diagnosis, and we were back to the drawing board.