Happy Anniversary!

What a celebration!

This year marks my "10th Anniversary" since being diagnosed with graves' disease. Very emotional as I think about the severe turn my life took in my early 20s. How a co-worker and now esteemed friend took me in and nurtured me. How it all happened so fast and I was not in control or able to provide input on health decisions.

Eye opening to have gained weight, lost hair, had heart palpitations, high blood pressure, hand tremors, black-outs, sensitivity to cold, and graves eye disease. I had a goiter and no other option to remove my thyroid but by radioactive iodine. All of this was new information to a young adult in her early career after recently graduating college.

So many questions come to mind. Could I have children, is marriage an option, is this a severe disability, what am I capable of? Hard and serious questions that I sought answers to. More so, from a medical perspective. What about my faith? How could my spiritual reliance help me through this and provide insight to these questions? We shall soon see.

Why start here with my story? Historical context lays the foundation and an understanding of why I started this blog. I've seen many blogs and websites dedicated to thyroid health, but many do not address the real stress and hardship of graves' disease. Yes, there are symptoms. However, on paper they are "easy reads." In reality they have the strength to make you question your confidence, self-esteem, trust, your capacity as an individual to provide and meet the needs of family and friends, among many others.

I have reached a new level of understanding of graves' disease. After being in the top 1% of everything that can go wrong, I am taking control to shape the 99% that can go right. Stay tuned and get ready for an adventurous ride.