Christina Applegate has announced that her daughter, 13, has been diagnosed with POTS. Applegate’s daughter, Sadie, spoke out about her condition in an episode of Applegate’s “MeSsy” podcast on Tuesday, June 25.
“I have something called POTS,” Sadie shared. “I have no clue what it actually is, but it’s something to do with the autonomic nervous system and it affects my heart. When I stand up, I get really, really dizzy and my legs get really weak and I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
Sadie said that she had been living with the condition for a while now, but was diagnosed only recently. Applegate, meanwhile, said she “hates” that Sadie has to go through this ordeal.
“I hate it for you my darling. I really hate it for you,” Applegate said. “I’m sad. But I love you and I know you’re going to be OK. And I’m here for you and I believe you. And thank you for bringing this to light and awareness.”
According to Cleveland Clinic, POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, “is a condition that causes a number of symptoms when you transition from lying down to standing up, such as a fast heart rate, dizziness and fatigue.” “While there’s no cure, several treatments and lifestyle changes can help manage the symptoms of POTS,” it adds.
Sadie’s ordeal
Applegate shares Sadie with her husband, Martyn LeNoble. The little girl recalled how she would have to leave her sixth-grade classes “multiple times a day” to visit the nurse.
“In class, if I were to stand up then, I would be like, ‘I have to go to the nurse. I can’t do this.’ Or I’ll be in PE, and I’ll be like, ‘I have to go to the nurse,’” she said. “They were like, ‘You’re doing this to get out of class. It’s probably just anxiety. Go back to class.’ They wouldn’t do anything for it.”
“Them not doing anything about it definitely hurt me physically and emotionally,” she added. “Because I was just like, ‘This is rude and I feel sick and you’re telling me to go to PE and run laps around the football field. I can’t do that.’”
Applegate confessed that initially, even she was dismissive of the symptoms. “She wears layers of clothes on 90-degree days and she hates PE — sorry school, not a big fan of PE or physical things,” Applegate said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I kind of felt that way too.’ I feel so horrible that we didn’t pay attention to it.”
“I just didn’t see it at home, babe. At home you were fine. But it’s kind of like us,” Applegate, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021, added. “We get out in the world, and the stresses and the anxiety of the world bring upon our symptoms much worse than they would be if we were in the safety and the coolness of our own homes.”
Sadie said that after she gained some clarity on her condition, she understood “what my mom’s going through.” “Like, when my mom’s like, ‘Oh, I’m kind of in pain right now. Oh, I’m having tremors.’ If I didn’t have this, I probably would be like, ‘I don’t really care. I don’t know what you’re talking about,’” she added.
