By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

At first glance, the photo below depicts a healthy young gymnast on the balance beam. Her left foot steadied, her arms wide, she is focused and confident.

But look closer, and you'll see a tube inserted into her left nostril and taped to her face. It's the 2022 Women's Development Program National Championships and 17-year-old Madeline Frazier, who has battled one disorder after another since second grade, is competing with a feeding tube in her nose.

"Pretty crazy," said Madeline, now a freshman gymnast at William & Mary.

"It was miraculous she even qualified," said Laura Frazier, her mother.

Madeline's story, from one diagnosis to another and yet another, is both pretty crazy and miraculous.

She was a 7-year-old picture of health when, seemingly overnight, she began experiencing headaches, stomach pain and panic attacks. She threw up in class, which led to emetophobia — a persistent fear of vomiting.

Madeline saw one doctor after another and underwent test after test. But there were no answers.

"We had to switch pediatricians, because ours didn't help us very much," Madeline said. "We went to a couple of therapists, and they didn't really do anything."

Five years after the symptoms first hit, there was a diagnosis — Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.

PANDAS, to use the misleadingly cute-sounding acronym, often results from a streptococcal bacterial infection such as strep throat (for which she was never tested). Symptoms include physical, neurological and psychological issues that make everyday life problematic. According to PANDAS Network, it affects one in 200 children.

Through some friends, Laura was able to connect with a doctor who had experience treating the disorder.

"Maddie at this point was basically incapacitated," said Laura, who is now a registered nurse. "The doctor started some initial treatments, and over time we built a relationship. Maddie was put on antibiotics and we figured out she was likely strep-positive when all this started.

"The antibiotics over time helped her tremendously, but we had to figure out the right ones. The other doctors we had been to before had given her the wrong ones. When she got on the right ones, she was mentally and physically better within 24 hours."

PANDAS was being treated. But there would be more health issues ahead.

Another obstacle, another diagnosis
During her junior year at Monacan High near Richmond, Madeline began having stomach and leg pains. Then came occasional fainting spells when standing from a sitting or lying position.

She had to wonder: What now? So did her parents, Steven and Laura, and siblings, Annabelle and Lucas.

In late January of 2022, Madeline was admitted to the hospital. Diagnosis: Post Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a condition that causes the heart to accelerate when transitioning from a sitting or lying position to upright. She was also tested for Lyme disease.



"I stayed in the hospital for five days and left with a nasogastric (feeding) tube," Madeline said. "That's the only reason they let me leave. I wasn't able to eat enough to keep my body weight."

Regardless, she was determined to compete in as many meets as possible. That included the Nationals in Mesa, Arizona — even if that was only three months after she had been discharged from the hospital.

And there was this: She was still receiving nutrients from a feeding tube, which had to be inserted 24/7.

"She got permission from the doctor to compete with a tube in her nose," Laura said. "And we had a letter in her gym bag in case anyone asked."

So they were off to Arizona, bags packed with the usual traveling items plus a feeding tube and doctor's note.

It's fair to say that physically and mentally, Madeline was not at her best. But of the 144 gymnasts competing on the beam, Madeline placed eighth with a score of 9.450.

"It was definitely one of the greatest accomplishments in my life," she said.

Not long after returning home, Madeline was in school when she received a text from Laura. That Lyme test she took? It came back positive.

Lyme disease is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of a tick carrying borrelia bacteria. Always the outdoorsy type, Madeline has seen plenty of ticks in her time.

"We think because I had PANDAS, my immune system was really weak and I couldn't fight Lyme disease," she said. "That's when we finally started treatment."

More determined than ever
If PANDAS and POTS weren't enough, now there was chronic Lyme disease. But Madeline never let it derail her goals, both in the classroom and gymnastics.

She was an Honor Roll student at Monacan. And competing with Virginia International Gymnastics, she was the State Level 10 champion in the all-around, beam and floor in her age group.

And, fulfilling her ultimate goal, Madeline became a college gymnast.

"I had an unofficial visit with Kelsey and Brittney," she said, referring to Tribe head coach Kelsey Hinton and assistant Brittney Emmons. "I honestly wasn't sure what they thought of me, of everything that happened.

"Then one day, they texted me around 7 a.m. asking to call and they were like, 'We're going to give you a spot on the team if you want it.' They said 'You can think about it,' but I said, 'No, I'm going to do that.' It was the perfect school academically and with gymnastics."

In the first few weeks of her second semester of college, Madeline faces unique challenges.

"Because they didn't treat anything soon enough, I have some permanent — I don't want to say damage, but that's the only word I can use — in my nervous system," she said. "I have OCD, PTSD, and a couple other things that kind of hang around with me. Especially after practices and the whole day, I have a lot of leg pain.

"I eat enough but I struggle with digestive problems. And I have brain fog. That's pretty rough, especially considering I'm in classes and stuff. That also worsens at night. It gets harder to retrieve information that I know."

All of which only makes Madeline, who hopes to major in neuroscience or biology, more determined. In her debut meet last weekend at Clemson, she helped W&M post its best score in the beam.

And in her limited spare time, Madeline is creating an advocacy web site for chronic illnesses.

"I'm not surprised she overcame all that because I know her," Laura said. "And I know her strength and determination. She's always been the kid who has made the doubters say, 'OK, I was wrong.'"

That picture from the Nationals, which has become one of her favorites, is worth a thousand words.

"My illness has always been invisible, and there were so many people that didn't believe anything was wrong with me," Madeline said. "It's a good example for younger gymnasts that something can be wrong whether you see it or not. But you can still go out there and do something amazing."