I told Mr. FixIt yesterday…we are at “that age” now. When you have WAY more doctor’s appointments than you’ve ever had in your life. It makes me crazy. I wish we could sync everything and get all of our appointments out of the way in one week then we could go a long stretch without another one. But, unfortunately, that’s rarely how it works out when you are dealing with two people with different diagnoses.

I had an appointment a couple of weeks ago with a new endocrinologist. I am still dealing with the hyperparathyroidism that led me to have surgery in Florida in March. If you were following along at the time, I had an adenoma (and the parathyroid gland it was attached to) removed from my neck. The surgeon was only able to visualize the top two glands. The bottom two are somewhere in my chest imbedded in my thymus gland. That would be fine if my parathyroid hormone and calcium levels were normal. But, they aren’t. They’re elevated and that indicates I have at least one, if not more, adenomas. 

Hyperparathyroidism is an invisible disease…except on paper, and in your body. The person suffering from it surely knows they have it by the symptoms. Diffuse, migrating pain. Hair loss. Extremely grouchy mood. Insomnia. Muscle cramps. Acid reflux and indigestion. Nausea and vomiting. Skin problems…itching, rashes, dry, cracked, peeling. Heart palpitations. Calcification of the arteries. Loss of bone density. Terrible brain fog. The list goes on and on. 

If left unresolved, it can cut years off your life. Dana Delany, Garry Shandling, and Jamie Foxx all had hyperparathyroidism. It is actually among the most frequent endocrine diagnoses. I was so disappointed that the surgery was only partially successful. I made the decision not to go back down to Florida to the Norman Parathyroid Center. That’s a long way to go for testing and appointments when I can go to The Ohio State University. My appointment with a new endocrinologist surgeon is today, so I would love it if you could send some prayers and good thoughts…not only for safe travel there and back, but for a skilled and confident surgeon who can take care of business fairly locally.

I remember calling my mom years ago and every conversation was about her and my brother’s most recent trip to the doctor, what was wrong with them, and what medicine they’re now taking. I used to get so weary and frustrated that all she talked about was what was wrong. Now…now I have a lot more empathy for what she was going through and wish I would have been a bit more patient and insightful with her. Water under the bridge…however, I try not to vent my spleen every time I talk to my kids.

In the meantime…girls, it’s tomato season here in West Virginia. We stopped at my favorite greenhouse last night and bought four big, juicy tomatoes…fresh off the vine. We had tomato and mayo sandwiches (with a thin slice of ham on them) for supper last night. Oh, my…that’s heaven right there! I hope you are enjoying this first week of August as much as we are. I’m ready for another camping trip!

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“But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Matthew 9:12 ESV