Against All Odds
Norwin grad Victoria Piekut earns
International Pageant title.
By Jennifer Brozak
W
hen she was in middle school, Victoria Piekut learned she had a health
condition that could have left her bedridden or in a wheelchair.
To say she has overcome the odds is an understatement.
This past July, Piekut, a 2014 honors graduate of Norwin High School, was
crowned the 2015 International Junior Miss Teen at a pageant in Virginia—all while battling
Hypermobility Ehler’s Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and a form of dysautonomia called Postural
Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). EDS is a connective tissue disorder that causes
Piekut’s joints, ligaments, skin and blood vessels to be much looser than they should be.
This, in turn, leads to POTS, the symptoms of which can include irregular organ function,
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