Spotlight on: Sara Faulkner @sara_faulkner_og_mermaid
My Name is Sara Faulkner. I’ve had VS since age 7. I don’t know what the world looks like without it. I remember the exact time I noticed it and it has never gone away since. I never let VS stop me. In fact I didn’t even know it had a name until a few years ago.
I was the first female to Graduate the U.S. Coast Guard’s Helicopter Rescue Swimmer school. Something that only just only 1000 people have ever done. Helicopter Rescue Swimmer has a drop out rate of 50 % – 80% like the Navy Seals. When I went through they said no female would ever make it through because it was too hard. They had no idea they had told that to the wrong girl! I went on to serve my country for 20 years. I saved over 80 people during Hurricane Katrina ( 48 people in one night ) and many more throughout my career. My VS is bad, I have a pineal cyst in my brain, I have type 2 narcolepsy, and a nasty form of rheumatoid arthritis that attacks the spine and ribs called Ankylosing Spondylitis. BUT, I AM NOT defined by any of these diagnoses.
I hope people struggling with VS can see my story and know you can still be a super person, and you can be more than your VS! Go live a full and adventurous life and don’t let the static stop you! 🇺🇸🚁🧜🏻♀️💪🏻🙏🏻
