The good news was that she finally had a name for what was making her sick: postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS.

It was the first time I’d seen Tori in months, but as wonderful as it was to be together, it was hard to see what a toll her illness had taken on her. The one silver lining of an otherwise miserable week was that my mom and Tori had both flown to Philadelphia. Talk about irony-there I was, in peak physical condition yet getting a full battery of medical tests every day, while my girlfriend was struggling just to stand up without feeling faint, and she couldn’t even convince anyone she was sick… She was having heart palpitations and blinding headaches, and she couldn’t keep anything down. She was one of the most upbeat, confident women I’d ever met. “I don’t think this is the right diagnosis, Nick.” She was close to tears when she called me. And the one after that.īy this time Tori was really starting to get frustrated. That didn’t sit well with Tori, so she decided to see another doctor. When her symptoms worsened to the point that she started missing work, she decided to see a doctor.īecause she presented with no fever, and her symptoms (dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and some insomnia) were largely invisible, the doctor diagnosed her with depression. A few weeks earlier, she had been at an outdoor picnic concert hanging out with some girlfriends when she suddenly started feeling light-headed.

While I was in Philly fighting for a starting position, out in Oregon, Tori was facing her own battle. Here’s an excerpt from Believe It that discusses Tori’s journey with POTS, courtesy of publisher Tyndale Momentum: They have also made a personal donation to Dysautonomia International to fund research, physician education, public awareness and patient empowerment programs. They are donating a portion of the book proceeds to Dysautonomia International’s POTS Research Fund ( as described in an earlier blog post. Tori and Nick joined Dysautonomia International at our 6 th Annual Conference in Nashville last weekend to share their story, and let others know why it’s so important to raise awareness. Nick kicked off his book tour with an appearance on “Good Morning America.” Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles is speaking up about his wife Tori’s POTS diagnosis in his new book, Believe It: My Journey of Success, Failure and Overcoming the Odds, which went on sale today.

Believe It by Nick Foles