A couple weeks ago, I was elated to find out that I’d been accepted for a summer writing internship!  This wasn’t just any job offer, but a highly competitive internship that I’ve worked towards and dreamed about for years. It seemed so surreal that this door had finally opened!

Unfortunately, I quickly came crashing back into reality when I remembered how ill I’ve been lately. At the moment, my anxiety is so out-of-hand that it’s not clear how I’ll finish the semester, because I can hardly even start my assignments.  On top of this, I can barely walk without a mini-seizure causing my legs to collapse, and I’m having a difficult time speaking coherently.  If I’m this dysfunctional right now, how can I possibly hold down a job in a few more weeks?

I have had some really good days lately, too, but even then, I still live with a sense that my illness is following me like the bogie man, ready to jump out and attack at any moment. To me, one of the cruelest aspects of PANS is its unpredictability. Just as I think I’m healthy and in the clear, suddenly, it can overtake me again. I live on egg shells because I never know when PANS will strike next. I fear that I’m always one cold or infection or exposure to Strep away from the brink of insanity.

Even if I improve in the next few weeks, how can I do an internship this summer if I might lose myself any day, without warning?

Nevertheless, after ten years of PANS, I’m a race horse kicking at the gates; for too long, this illness has kept me locked up as I’ve watched everyone else take off without me. Now, this internship is my chance to tear through the doors and speed down the track. I have a life to live, and I’m not about to let PANS stop me.

So I accepted the offer.

At this point, I’m more terrified than excited, but you know what? I refuse to not try just because of the bad things that might happen. I know I may have to pace myself and guard my health more than the other interns. Even so, because I’ve become accustomed to the uncertainty of never knowing how long my symptoms will be in remission, I work very hard on every day that I’m able—apparently with higher-quality results than many other healthy people. If I’m well this summer, then I believe I will not only get through the job, but I will pass everything with flying colors.

I’ve long come to terms with the inevitable uncertainty of my condition, and day-by-day, I’ve been working through the difficulties and moving towards recovery—albeit much slower than I’d like at times. But now, I’m determined to keep working through PANS this summer, as this internship leads me toward all my dreams as a writer.