So Close to Death Yet So Far Away

P.O.T.S.

By: Derek C. Evans

Narrated by: Eddie Leonard Jr.

Length: 5 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Growing up Derek Evans was a good student and athlete in a middle-class suburban area in southeastern Pennsylvania. The future looked bright for Derek. After waking up from a nap during his shift as a lifeguard at the age of 17, everything changed. After months of not feeling right and several doctors' visits, it was determined that Derek was beginning to suffer from a dysautonoima disorder called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (P.O.T.S.).

P.O.T.S., sometimes referred to as an invisible illness, is a very unknown yet destabilizing and bizarre syndrome. Derek's next eight years became a health roller coaster ride amid remission, relapses, emergency room and doctors' visits, and several different medications. Despite all this, Derek managed to keep his illness a secret from almost everyone, in fear of being judged and not understood.

In October of 2016, Derek worked as an Assistant Branch Manager at Hertz Rent-A-Car. He collapsed inside a body shop during a sales call and woke up in an ambulance being transported to the hospital. After this life-changing incident, Derek decided enough was enough and was determined to make major changes. Besides a new career, Derek found a passion to let the truth out about his illness. It was time to bring awareness.

In this book, you will find the story of Derek's battle with P.O.T.S. as well as interviews with mothers of children with P.O.T.S., doctors' opinions on the illness, and stories of many others suffering from P.O.T.S. You will begin to see life from the eyes of a person suffering from the invisible illness, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Although over one million people worldwide have been diagnosed, there is still little known about P.O.T.S. What is known by those who have it, is at times, they feel like they are so close to dying, yet told they are so far away.

©2017 Derek C. Evans (P)2017 Edward Leonard Jr.

So close to death

This was a very good book. We learn from a sufferer about his invisible disease,POTS,and how it has affected his life.Very interesteing.Eddie Leonard Jr was a fine narrator.I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

If you know someone...

My fiance has POTS. I read this book to have a better understanding of her situation.

Worth a listen

Invisible Illnesses exists more than anyone may realize. I being one who suffers from at least one. I live with RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy) also known as CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome) The best way to describe it is we feel like someone has poured gasoline into our veins and lit it on fire. a hug, a gentle spring breeze, clothes and a shower are all things that can produce a flare that would be wished upon no one. It is Difficult to attend a movie due to surroundsound & vibrations. You also end up pretty much staying in your home the fear of people running into you touching you in the wrong places are overwhelming. Going to hospitals are not the place to go for help anymore for the pain, they treat you like your drug seeking. Even had a friend that came to visit from another state who also suffered from it as well,ended up at the hospital twice on the third, she was told if it bothered her that much being here to go home! It too is a disease that many do you not know about or understand including the medical profession, it has been around since the Civil War and still can take months to years to be diagnosed.
P.O.T.S is a disease I knew nothing of until a brother of a fellow RSDer was diagnosed with it .because the mother had done the research. This author I believe did a phenomenal job in getting information out there that is needed so much I know that the one I live with is also called the suicide disease I don’t want to tell you how many I know I’ve lived that name. There is no cure and no real treatment. And it’s true what keeps us going are the ones that do you support us and the groups that we are suffers can get together even if on line. So please be gentle before you make comments, just because it is not something you can see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.