PREECEVILLE - Hannah Kidder has found that the outlet of baking macaroons to be a physical and mentally therapeutic. Her business Fainting Goat Macaron has been taking shape for the past four years and has started to gain in popularity.
She was diagnosed with Dysautonomia and Gastroparesis at the age of 13 that affected her nervous system, causing her to faint and not being able to eat properly. Prior to the diagnosis, she had gotten very ill but she slowly recovered, however with limitations. Through medications she is managing to control the symptoms as there is no known cure.
Making macaroons has been her getaway and offered her a distraction, a way to deal with the disease and symptoms. “I have always enjoyed baking and this is one way I can keep some normalcy in my life. The macaroons are very time-consuming but I love the final product. In the beginning, I had quite a few flops but over the years I have perfected the recipe,” said Kidder.
Kidder began doing trade shows marketing her products under her business name Fainting Goat Macaron and received a positive response. She moved on to marketing online through Instagram and now incorporates custom orders for any occasion, including monthly themed boxes of macaroons.
Kidder is currently taking her Grade 12 courses online as it is impossible for her to attend school due to COVID-19. She has plans on graduating with her Preeceville classmates. After graduation she plans on going to University to take her undergrad in Bio Medicine Sciences and afterwards she wants to become a pediatric anesthesiologist.
“I want to give back to the system that has helped me and I knew at an early age that I wanted to be involved in the medical field with both my parents currently working in the field. My mom is a nurse and my dad a paramedic, and both have inspired me,” she said.
Dysautonomia refers to a disorder of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) function that generally involves failure of the sympathetic or parasympathetic components of the ANS, but Dysautonomia involving excessive or overactive ANS actions also can occur, stated the website for disorders.
Dysautonomia can be local, as in reflex sympathetic dystrophy, or generalized, as in pure autonomic failure. It can be acute and reversible, as in Guillain-Barre syndrome, or chronic and progressive. Several common conditions such as diabetes and alcoholism can include Dysautonomia. Dysautonomia also can occur as a primary condition or in association with degenerative neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Other diseases with generalized, primary Dysautonomia include: multiple system atrophy and familial Dysautonomia. Hallmarks of generalized Dysautonomia due to sympathetic failure are impotence (in men) and a fall in blood pressure during standing (orthostatic hypotension). Excessive sympathetic activity can present as hypertension or a rapid pulse rate.
