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PATIENT INTERVIEW by Diane Zimmerman, Ph.D. Jodi Norton was 18 years old and having the time of her life. A star on her high school swim team, she'd been recruited by a diving coach to join Team Orlando. She was spending her senior year in Orlando, Florida and was living out her dream of becoming a professional diver. Looking back to this time from 10 years later, Norton says she felt that nothing could hold her back, least of all her well-trained athletic body. The first signs that something might be wrong were the extreme fatigue and occasional dizziness she began experiencing. Then a serious accident left her with a broken wrist and hand. Because the young people on Team Orlando work out strenuously- training four hours a day when school is in session, and eight hours a day otherwise--her symptoms were repeatedly dismissed by doctors as the results of "overtraining". Norton responded by pushing herself even harder. After recovering from the accident, she resumed her rigorous diving schedule and completed her year in Orlando in spite of continued dizziness and extreme fatigue. The following year, Norton was recruited by the University of Arizona to be on their diving team. Most of her time was spent under the Grand Canyon State's clear blue skies and blazing hot sun, and her symptoms rapidly became more frequent and severe. Skin rashes and severe joint pain set in. After eight months of struggling to maintain her rigorous workouts, Norton decided to leave the team and seek medical help, hoping to get a diagnosis for her symptoms. Again a feasible explanation camouflaged her emerging lupus. Several
of the team had been diagnosed with mononucleosis, and Norton was also
found to have the antibodies for the virus. This time, Norton had to leave
the team and drop half of her course load in order to cope. She was treated
for mononucleosis, but the symptoms did not subside, and the search for
a diagnosis continued.
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