Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS)

I was that mom. I was the mom who noticed something wasn’t quite right, the mom who stayed up late and Googled and read, the mom who grew weary as I watched my child fade. The mom who brushed off each symptom at first, the mom who reasoned it away with the logic of other’s [...]

It was a test the doctor wanted to run, as it often was found in patients he treated, and could be the cause of the diagnosis I was seeing him for. Or at least one of them. It was noninvasive, an ultrasound. I thought that surely I didn’t have it, and didn’t fully understand what [...]

Last week, my mother and I went to a local church event for women — a time of food, fellowship, and testimonies. I had spoken there once before, telling the story of my journey with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS), but it was our first time returning since then. [...]

Dear Sir/Madam, You don’t know me, but I am a student like and unlike so many of the students you deal with on a daily basis. Currently, I’m waiting to finish my senior year of college. I completed two years at my local community college, graduating with an Associate of Arts degree, then transferred to [...]

I encouraged my daughter to order all the items on the breakfast menu that sounded good. We were sitting on the end of an L-shaped bar at the local family restaurant, and soon the waitress brought strawberry waffles, potato pancakes, eggs with bacon, and biscuits with gravy. Our plan was for her to have one [...]

I may “look” white and healthy. I speak great English, but I’m not American. And I’m most certainly, not healthy. I am sick. I am a 100 percent Colombian, born and raised in Bogotá. I came to the States for college and stayed. I am close to being a citizen, but in my eyes, I’m [...]