TAMPA, Fla. — Mikayla Nash, a young charter boat captain, is working on getting her nursing degree while running her own business after being diagnosed with three chronic illnesses that have yet to stop her ambitions.
Nash is reminded, just about every day, about her passion projects. She gets joy out of teaching others how to catch a fish, while enjoying nature.
Nash said her grandfather taught her how to fish when she was 10 years old, blessing her with his love of fishing along the way.
Now, she’s teaching others that same joy of fishing and love of Tampa Bay waterways.
At 21 years old, Nash is one of the youngest fishing captains out on the Bay. She’s been doing it since she was a teenager.
“Just grateful that I can do that for people. I know what it’s like to catch my first fish,” said Nash. “So, seeing them and just knowing that feeling that I remember when I was little, it’s just awesome that I can share that and provide that experience for them.”
But she also has had a lot to overcome in her young life.
The first indication is the multiple times throughout the day Nash takes medication for her three different chronic illnesses. As a high school senior, she was diagnosed with POTS or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Dysautonomia, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
POTS impacts her nervous system and often is called an invisible disease. Dysautonomia is a nervous system disorder that disrupts heart rate and blood pressure. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, meanwhile, causes ongoing joint pain.
“I’ve been in the hospital more than I’ve been in my own bed the last three years,” she said. “It’s been quite the journey, (a) wide range of symptoms, lightheadedness, dizzy.
“You just feel like crap every single day. And I’ve learned just to look past it at this point and adjust to that’s going to be my everyday life and I just have to deal with it.”
The other illness leads to inflamed joints and sore muscles.
But her own misfortune led to an obsession with helping others, not just out on the water. She’s studying to become a nurse.
“Ever since I was little, I just love to help people, and I think that nursing is a great way to do that,” Nash said. “And being in the hospital and just having nurses take care of me. It’s what I want to do for some other kids that really are struggling.”
Nash said once she’s a nurse, she’ll continue her charter business on the side while tending to patients. Nash added that fishing will always double as her therapy.
“It’s very difficult,” she said. “Chronic illness is something that’s not really talked about often. So hopefully this spreads awareness to it. If you’re out there struggling with chronic illness, just know that you’re not alone.”