DEAR THYROID^TM

Billie and Lolly, like Natasha and Lori, had a meet up. It wasn’t in person. They met via phone. Billie is in the Southern US and Lolly is in the UK. The beauty of their meet up is that it was as poignant and significant as an in person meet up. Their voices sang to each other across oceans and their history of writing to each other via email, forums and Dear Thyroid, were a celebration of feeling less alone with respect to their thyroid diseases. Even though they have different thyroid diseases and issues, their connection, like Lori and Natasha’s was just as life affirming and vital to their healing process. In shorthand, they discussed disease. In longhand, they talked about life, just like the others do. In the end, what they shared was spectacular.

I hope their story will inspire more phone meet ups and in person meet ups because offline support, in whatever form, in person or over the phone, brings us closer to each other and hopefully makes us feel less alone as we fight our way out of the Thyloset.

In their own words, I hope you enjoy Lolly and Billie’s account of their meeting as much as I did.

First Telethyone, Operation Chatterbrain.

LOLLY:

Well what can I say I get up early not really clock watching well maybe a little, Remember then Billie said she would email me first, well time is drawing closer I think maybe she’s forgot so,  I email, ask if it’s still on for a chat, no reply 12pm arrives by now I am thinking shall I just call anyway so,  I do.. So around 12.15pm I call…

I hear “Hello”, so I say “Hello” we say Hello again, “Hello Billie” Well Hello Lolly (now I know that’s gonna make Katie laugh cus she knows what I am thinking). Poor Billie hadn’t had a good night and wasn’t,  even up yet, but she still wanted to chat.

We just start chatting, we must have covered everything from,  thyroid to,  Doctors to first DX family, pets,  Geography History, thank fook we didn’t go into science not one of my best subjects. I certainly didn’t want to hear the anatomy of hemorrhoids.

So like I say the conversation is just flowing, near the hour mark I tell Billie,  I am going to go off now and call back because I can only do an hour at a time on the plan I have, but I can put the phone down and recall. So,  I take a,  10 minute break just to change my Tenna Ladies (remind me not to visit that urologist one of our thyrodians did; I hear they’re worse than Gyno’s) anyway where was I?

Oh yes back to chatting with Billie, she has a lovely voice, great sense of humour and is very intelligent, I could have talked to her all day, we had so much in common, and knew how to laugh and joke about,  anything,  from dogs, funny events in our lives etc. I feel I know Billie even more, but most of all I think I know her hubby now. Did I tell you he came and spoke to me in his attempt at a posh English accent that was a cross between Aussie, London and something else in the mix,  I haven’t found the Geological location yet but when I do, I,  will be sure to add it.. Now something strange happened just at the end as we both were’ just,  about to say our goodbyes, hubby said he had bondage. Well I nearly pissed my pants (note to self go get your fooking ears checked girl).  What he was saying was, he had vondage, which was a telephone package and that we must do this again.

It was such a hoot, but so nice to talk to Billie and would love to do it again sometime. Billie what a Gal, she is lovely. I feel I know her and yes feel we could be Sista’s. Hubby was lovely too.

Yes Billie we may have an Ocean between us, but friendship knows no distance and it is here to stay.

Lolly

—

BEE

For those of you not on FB, I’ll post something here about DTs 1st telethyone phone call, Operation Chatterbrain and that’s exactly what Lolly and I did; chattered our brains.

We talked for almost 2 hrs. But it seemed like only 10 min went by. She’s one smart cookie when it comes to thyroid labs, so I picked her brain a bit.

But we mostly got to have that real conversation that enforced the friendship we’d developed through thyroid forums. It was great putting a voice behind the words. We sorted out our families, something you tend not to do in depth when you’re writing about in depth thyroid issues. We spoke of our geographic locations, which helped form a location in our brains that could be found on a map.

We had a chance to talk about ordinary things like our pets and the joy they bring us. We talked about our lives pre thyroid disease and both came to the conclusion that no way in hell would we be able to work as hard as we used to with the burden of this illness on our shoulders. But -as I knew we would- we LAUGHED. My long lost sister and I laughed;and laughed. We even got my husband, Archie Bunker on the phone and he laughed. He was supposed to speak southern For Lolly, but ended up speaking his made up Aussie Brit accent thrown in with a few “C’mon BAABEES so we laughed some more. We may have an ocean between us; but this friendship is here to stay Fookin’A

Who is next? Email katie@dearthyroid.com.

Tags: offline thyroid disease support, support for thyroid patients, telephone support for thyroid patients, thyroid patients supporting each other

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