A woman living with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) has shared footage of the moment she fainted and her new puppy immediately sprang into action.
Whether she is lying on the couch, working out, or just sitting in the car, Karina Drury, 21, is never sure when a fainting episode will strike. Living with POTS, a type of dysautonomia, means that Drury can often sense when she is about to fall unconscious, but there is very little she can do about it.
Indeed, one of her recent episodes happened while she was out running errands with her husband, Luke. He stepped out of the car, leaving Drury, of Indiana, inside with their 4-month-old cockapoo, Bentley.
As she lost consciousness and fainted, Bentley instantly came to her aid by licking her face to try to bring her back around, and then putting his head out of the window to alert Luke that something was wrong.
“I thought it was the sweetest thing that Bentley knew something was wrong even though he is not a service dog, and he wanted to help me,” Drury said. “Bentley helps me feel taken care of, even when I’m alone. It means a lot to me that he cares about me and can tell when my vitals are different.”
@karinadrury / TikTok
What Is POTS?
POTS is a blood circulation disorder that causes the heart to beat faster when transitioning from sitting to standing up. It is thought to affect around 1 to 3 million Americans, and is more prevalent among women, most likely to develop during adolescence, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The common symptoms of POTS include light-headedness, fainting, brain fog, fatigue, headache, blurred vision, tremors, and nausea. While there is still no known cause for POTS, many individuals living with the condition can manage it through diet, medication and physical therapy.
Dr. Anita Phung, medical monitor for Lindus Health, has previously told Newsweek that the symptoms can be made worse by prolonged periods of sitting, standing, or increased activity.
“My main recommendation is for individuals to keep themselves safe by identifying and avoiding triggers, educating the people around them about how to manage an episode (e.g. lie them down with legs raised, put them in the recovery position), and to strongly consider having a medical alert,” Phung said.
Raising Awareness on Social Media
As Drury could sense a fainting episode about to start, she propped her phone up to record it. When she saw Bentley’s swift action, she felt so touched by his attempts to help her.
Prior to this, she had only fainted in front of Bentley a couple of times, but he still knew the signs to look out for.
Drury shared the video on TikTok (@karinadrury) and the clip went viral with more than 692,900 views and over 69,400 likes at the time of writing.
“It was so heartwarming to watch the footage back of Bentley trying to care for me,” Drury told Newsweek. “He is still so young, and I have only had him for a few months, but he has done such a great job at being there for me when my health gets the best of me.”
She continued: “Bentley is an incredible dog, and although he won’t get officially service trained to my condition, he has already become an incredible help and such a joy.”
Drury and her husband have started teaching Bentley a few tricks he can do to help her, however. If she faints lying down, Bentley has been trained to lie flat on her for protection, and he will also run to get Luke for assistance.
Drury often uses social media to raise awareness for dysautonomia, and to show people how she handles each situation. She has previously shared videos of what happened when she fainted in the gym, at home, and in the grocery store.
Since the video of her fainting in the car was posted, it has amassed over 140 comments on TikTok at the time of writing. Plenty of internet users praised Bentley for trying to help his owner without hesitation.
One comment reads: “His little panic when he couldn’t get your husbands attention omg.”
Another person wrote: “Aww what a sweet baby! He definitely was worried about you!”
A third TikTok user added: “Ma’am that is now also your service pup! He did an amazing job.”
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