Nick Foles may have been the Super Bowl winning quarterback, but his wife, Tori Foles, has become just as big of a story thanks to her determination. Tori suffers from POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) disease, and used her platform to raise awareness for the condition over the offseason. According to CNN, Nick and Tori spoke about their experience at the Dysautonomia International conference, an event put on by the non-profit dedicated to POTS education and research.
At the conference, Tori opened up about a doctor suggesting she was just struggling with anxiety and depression before she insisted on getting further testing done. Tori noted she was one of the few people with POTS at the time to be correctly diagnosed.
“My heart rate went up by about 40 bpm,” Tori said at the conference, per CNN. “BINGO. If your heart rate is increasing by more than 30 bpm upon standing, then you have POTS and your autonomic nervous system is not regulating things. It took 1 minute to figure out. It makes me mad just talking about it…People were getting misdiagnosed for 10 years, 20 years, it was horrible. And it wasn’t just one or two people, it was pretty much everyone.”
CNN provided an overview of how POTS impacts the body.
POTS is a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which controls the involuntary functions of the body, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, breathing, blinking and urination. While it can and does affect any part of that system, the most frequent symptoms are profound fatigue, gastrointestinal issues and frequent, almost constant lightheadedness.
Tori and Nick welcomed their baby girl, Lily James, into the world in June of 2017. Tori admitted she worried about how she would be able to take care of her daughter as she battled her own health challenges.
“I always knew I wanted to have children, but there were days I couldn’t take care of myself, so how could I take care of a baby?” Tori noted per CNN. “I’ve had to be more disciplined in order to take care of her. Having a system and routine is important.”
Nick Foles Dedicated a Chapter in His New Book “Believe It” to His Wife
Over the offseason, Nick released a new book called “Believe It: My Journey of Success, Failure and Overcoming the Odds.” Here’s how Tyndale House Publishers described the book.
In Believe It, Nick shares the full, unvarnished story behind his unlikely path to Super Bowl glory, the challenges that threatened to hold him back, what brought him to the verge of retirement, what made him come back, and the faith that both grounded and guided him every step of the way.
How did Nick Foles get it done—winning Super Bowl MVP honors, silencing the critics, and shocking the world? How did the man who was on the verge of retiring just two seasons earlier stay optimistic and rally the team to an astounding win? How did he stay ready despite numerous trades and discouraging injuries, able to step up in the moment and perform at the top of his game?
In addition to discussing his football journey, Nick dedicated a chapter to his wife and her battle with POTS.
“It was tough for me because I was still healthy, and I could see what she was going through,” Nick explained to CNN. “But she’s amazing and we’ve grown closer together.”
Tori uses her social media accounts as a way to offer encouragement to others, and provide insight into the life of the Foles family. After speaking at the conference, Tori posted a lengthy message on Instagram about what the experience meant to her.
Thank you to Dysautonomia International for giving us the opportunity to speak about our journey with POTS. We are passionate about creating awareness for an illness that is very misdiagnosed and misunderstood. For me, it was extremely moving to see so many pots patients at the conference who might appear “normal,” but struggle with the illness every day and yet built up the courage to travel to the conference and learn more about how they can improve. I understand firsthand what it’s like to deal with POTS and to feel isolated and frustrated about the lack of answers there are for dealing with it. However, I also know how much I’ve Improved and how investing in educating myself on the body, the mind and nutrition can help. Not only that, but harvesting the will and the desire to keep moving forward and trusting God that He is constantly at work through my weakness allows me to not be victimized by this illness, but to instead keep striving forward. We aspire to spread hope and awareness, and the will to keep moving forward as we all continue to search for a cure and better ways to manage Dysautonomia. #dysautonomia #pots #awareness #nickfoles #chronicillness #nashville #togetherwerock
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Nick Foles’ Wife, Tori, Spoke About POTS Disease & Health During Offseason