Morgan Track

Morgan is still trying to run with POTS. She ended the indoor season placing 3rd
at the indoor state championships in the 400m.

Morgan has decided she will keep racing the 400m but is getting more and more tired doing that one lap. Her heart rate is now up to 246 beats per minute after running the 400m. She still throws up at practices but will not quit. She will run the 200m and has just decided a couple days ago that she wants to run the 100m but that means she has to be in blocks. For the last two days she has been working with her coach on blocking. It is so hard for her to be with her head down and then shoot upwards, this makes her heart rate jump and she gets lightheaded. Tomorrow will be her first time doing the 100m in blocks and we are nervous for her. Above is her practicing the blocks.

Brit - 7th grade track

400m race won it in 63 seconds

Brit at the start line of the 800m. There was a lot of pushing going on if you can't tell.

Brit took 3rd in the 800m in 2:38.

I told Brit he should try doing track. He went a few weeks ago and the coach had the distance run 7 miles and Brit hadn't been running at all. Needless to say, Brit did not like running he was so sore after 7 miles he could barely walk the next day. Brit wanted to quit but I suggested he try the sprints. He has trained a couple weeks and today had his second track meet. He ran the 400m and the 800m. Tomorrow Brit will play his first baseball game of the season.

Morgan - Indoor Track

So you all know Morgan is a fighter and is determined not to let POTS make her stop running even though her body is so tired, nauseated, and her heart races all the time. Last week in practice her heart rate was 240 beats per minute normal range would be around 150 beats per minute after a hard workout. The doctor said she will pass out on the track before she has a heart attack. She can't run distance at all because she is too tired but she is working on short distances.
Saturday, we went to her first race of the indoor track season which was at BYU. She signed up to run the 400m and 200m. There were 10 heats of the 400m and 12 heats for the 200m. She was in the last heat of each race. I was so scared for her I was shaking wondering if she could get around the track without collasping. She made it around barely you could see her strength was gone. She placed fifth in the 400m and fourth in the 200m. The girls who beat her were all girls she had beat last year in track. We were thrilled with how she did, but it is hard to know where she has been.

Below are two of Morgan's teammates.

Below Morgan is running the 200m.

Morgan on the stand for the 200m

Morgan on the stand for the 200m

Christmas 2011

Christmas Eve at Grandmas

Christmas Eve program

Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas Morning

Brit - National Junior Honor Society Induction

Brit was accepted in the National Junior Honor Society. He was voted President-Elect and was asked to speak at the induction ceremony. Above are a couple pics taken from our phone. They are not the best.

Morgan Cross Country Banquet

Morgan had a rough cross country season being so sick throwing up several times at each practice. Her Aunt Lindsey was helping coach and sometimes it was so hard for Lindsey to hear Morgan behind her throwing up. Morgan had to quit running right before region when the doctor was going to have an endoscopy done. Trying to find out what is wrong with Morgan has been so hard. After many doctors appointments, tests of every kind, the doctor thinks she has POTS, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

This an increase in heart rate from the supine to upright position of more than 30 beats per minute or to a heart rate greater than 120 beats per minute within 12 minutes of head-up tilt. This tachycardic response is sometimes accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure and a wide variety of symptoms. Low blood pressure of any kind may cause the following: lightheadiness, dizziness, exercise intolerance, fainting, excessive thirst, fatigue, cold extremities, abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, brain fog. Morgan has all of these symptoms. It affects all aspects of your body. Morgan is still undergoing testing. We just had a heart monitor test done and a brain MRI. Doctors are trying to rule out that she might have something else on tops of POTS. POTS is not curable but can be treated. There are so many things affected by POTS, it is by trial and error trying to get feeling better. Morgan was told if she can tolerate a little bit of exercise it would be good. To just jog 10 minutes her heart rate is 216-225 which is very scary. She is so determined she can run track but I am not sure if that is even possible.
Morgan had a cross country banquet and her Aunt Lindsey(Asst. Coach) was asked to present an award to Morgan. It was the Spirit Award. Here is how Lindsey introduced it, "This next award goes to someone who has shown an unconquerable spirit through this cross country season. For the past year she has battled everything from mono to low iron to stress fractures, and most recently underwent surgery for a hernia. With her body trying to give up, her spirit kept her going. She pushed through practices and meets, refusing to give in. When we told her she could stop, she fought harder. As the final meets of the season came, her body finally gave out, and with no other choice, she put her dreams on hold. The spirit of courage she displayed, even in the face of devastating trials, is why we are giving her this award tonight." This brings tears to my eyes everytime I think about what she has gone through and still going through. Thanks to everyone for their prayers on her behalf. Above are a few pictures from the banquet.

Triple Crown Baseball Tournament at the Field of Dreams in Las Vegas, NV

Here are a few pics that Kelly took at the field they played on in Las Vegas. It was very cool. Below are the boys warming up.

Coaches