Caitlin’s Journey to Health
G
etting a fresh start in life comes in many ways.
For me, my fresh start begins with my health. My name is Caitlin Banks, I’m 20 years old and I suffer from chronic pain every day. However, my life didn’t used to be this way. To get a better understanding of how my fresh start will look I want to take you on a journey of how it all started.
In my younger years I remember being the girl of picture-perfect health. I would rarely get sick and when I did, I would just get sick and then ask for a buffet of food. Nothing ever lasted long, just the occasional flu and cold. As far as my mental health goes, I probably had it a little tougher than most girls at a young age, but I can’t say for sure. I always had depression that stemmed from being bullied almost everyday since grade three, not to mention some things at home were tough. My dad and sister suffer from chronic illnesses and I am the youngest of 4 children in a blended family since I was 6 months old, so as you can imagine the drama that comes with all of that. The medical system has always played a role in our household, but nothing ever to do with me. Until grade 6, when a school field trip to Space Camp would change everything. Here I am on this amazing trip getting an experience of a lifetime and then my whole life falls apart. I wake up one day at the beginning of the trip and start violently getting sick. I couldn’t keep any food or water down and to top it all off, I couldn’t go home. The rest of the trip would be filled with hot/cold flashes, exhaustion, dizziness, and getting
