About Us:
Meet the Zinck Girls
Hi! My name is Natalie Zinck, and I have struggled for over 30 years with health issues no one could ever diagnose. In the last few years, I was finally able to receive some answers due to stubborn determination, advocation, and dumb luck. I received diagnoses of Raynaud's Syndrome, Ankylosing Spondylitis, potential Rheumatoid Arthritis and Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, as well as several vascular compressions (MTS, PCS, nTOS, vTOS, and NCS).
None of these diagnoses are desirable, but finally knowing the cause of years of my undiagnosed chronic pain and illness was emotionally validating. Receiving these diagnoses not only helped my state of mind, but also enabled me to receive the correct medical assistance I needed.
That doesn’t mean I am 100% better or that I have a cure for all of my ailments. I experience good days and bad days. I still deal with flare-ups and need to experiment with my medications, which can get tricky. However, understanding WHY my body responds how it does, gives me the ability to move through the bad days and make it out the other side with my hope still intact: not only for myself but also for my family.
Meet my oldest daughter, Samantha (Sam). Sam has struggled with chronic pain and migraines since she was 6 years old. As a mom, seeing my child struggle with pain and unexplained ailments left me feeling helpless and defeated, especially when doctors weren’t supportive. I've been the recipient of more than my fair share of side glances and rolled eyes from medical professionals. I just kept searching, and it took months and sometimes years, but we finally found the right doctors who were instrumental in Sam’s diagnoses and care.
Unfortunately, Sam has also experienced condescending responses and a lack of understanding about her health issues. Kids her age, teachers, doctors, and physical therapists all took part in demeaning her suffering by making comments such as, “you’re just faking it,” “you just have anxiety,” “you’re too young to have these issues,” “you should be able to do this exercise at your age,” and on and on. Experience has helped Sam and I understand that young doesn’t always equal illness free.
As of now, doctors have diagnosed Sam with severe migraines (with auras), Vocal Chord Dysfunction, POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), hEDS (Hypermobile Ehelrs-Danos Syndrome, CCI (Cranial Cervical Instability), Raynaud’s Syndrome, and AS (Ankylosing Spondylitis). Her last diagnosis of AS would have been virtually impossible for her to receive if we hadn't both been previously diagnosed and carried the gene. So, in advocating for myself, I inadvertently advocated for my daughter.
Meet my youngest daughter, Catherine (Cat). We discovered the hard way, as most people do with allergies, that Cat is severely allergic to peanuts. Cat was three years old at the time and we were on vacation. While riding a train in the middle of New Hampshire, far away from our doctors in Texas, Cat took one small bite of peanut and all hell broke loose.
It was a frightening experience, but we were lucky that her body expelled a large amount of the allergen on its own and Benadryl did the rest. Once home, she had a proper allergen test done that showed, without a doubt, Cat has an anaphylactic response to peanuts. Needless to say, she has to always have an EpiPen with her wherever she goes.
Several years later, when she was 8 years old, we noticed Cat’s eating habits slowly began to change, then psychological changes began to occur, along with weight loss. After visiting several doctors, Cat’s Gastroenterologist could offer insight into what was happening with Cat.
She discovered Cat had Esophageal Dysmotility (her food was not moving down her esophagus the way it should). So, the next step was an endoscopy, and this is when the Gastroenterologist figured out Cat had EOE (Eosinophilic Esophagitis). She worked closely with an allergist and they discovered Cat was also allergic to egg whites. This enabled them to put Cat on a specific medicine regimen that began to work fairly quickly.
Cat has since been thriving on the medicine, however, this experience took a toll on her psyche in a multitude of ways. Therapy really helped her learn to cope, but she still often feels different and out of place among her peers because she can’t just eat whatever she wants like her friends can. She deals with these issues a little better now that she is older, but getting to this point was a rough journey for her and our entire family.
Experiencing these medical issues as a patient and a mom has been incredibly difficult. There have been moments I have wanted to quit, stop searching, and stop asking questions because I was tired of the dead ends, judgement, and constant run around. All of these issues not only impacted me, but also my entire family.
Knowing how straining it can be to cope and navigate, not only through these illnesses but also through the medical system, inspired me to start this website. My hope is to offer patients and their loved ones a source that offers answers, guidance, and comfort that we are not alone on this journey.