Besse Park lit up for Dysautonomia
Decked out with all her patches, Ainslee Manduca holds her tealight. Photos by Brandy Muz
Ainslee Manduca places a light at the flag pole.
The pier is lit up blue.
Ainslee Manduca stands proud with her lights.
Savine, Ainslee and Daisy Manduca.
Decked out with all her patches, Ainslee Manduca holds her tealight. Photos by Brandy Muz
Ainslee Manduca places a light at the flag pole.
The pier is lit up blue.
Ainslee Manduca stands proud with her lights.
Savine, Ainslee and Daisy Manduca.
As the sun set on Wareham, Besse Park turned blue thanks to Girl Sout Troop 64968.
Dysautonomia, also known as autonomic dysfunction, is a group of disorders that affect the autonomic nervous system. As an umbrella term, dysautonomia covers symptoms like orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure upon standing), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (rapid heart rate upon standing) and fainting.
The troop gathered in Besse park Saturday, Oct. 11 with tealights and ribbon to help bring awareness to the disorder. Ainslee Manduca was at the ready to share information about the event and dysautonomia.
"It's pretty awesome to get to show other people dysautonomia," she said.
Ainslee helped place lights around the pier and sidewalk of the park and said the issues with the disorder are close to her.
"A lot of people in our family have dysautonomia so we get to celebrate us for a little bit and let people know all about us and what makes us special," she said.
Savine Manduca is a leader and organizer of the event within the troop and has dysautonomia. She said that it was cool to bring awareness to Wareham after seeing it honored in Niagara Falls.
Savine was joined by her service dog, Daisy, who helps detect changes in her heart rate and blood pressure. Daisy kept a watchful eye as the troop spoke about the disorder.
"It's a newly found disorder, so the girls are just trying to get the awareness out for more research," she said.
