Friends rally around Okanagan woman with rare condition

KELOWNA– Friends and family of a 20 year old Okanagan woman, recently diagnosed with a rare and debilitating condition, are rallying around her.

They’re raising money and awareness about POTS Disease, in the hopes it will improve her quality of life.

Until about seven months ago Amy Soranno was a healthy 20 year old woman.

Then suddenly she was plagued by headaches, abdominal pain and problems with virtually all of her organs.

After seeing 14 different specialists in Canada, Amy was accepted into a study at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

It was there, this past November, that Amy got her diagnosis.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS.

It causes blood to pool in the lower extremities whenever Amy sits or stands.

It’s meant Amy can’t work and with so much medical travel, and no BC Medical coverage leading up to the diagnosis, the bills are piling up.

Enter her friends and a hip hop musical fundraiser Thursday night in Kelowna.

The money raised will help with her daily therapies like physio, that aim to reduce her pain.

Amy wasn’t able to attend the fundraiser as she was in too much pain.

She is extremely grateful, though.

Her family says more travel is in the future as specialists in Tennessee would like to see her again and they’re waiting for BC Medical approval to enter Amy into a treatment program in Dallas, Texas.