DEAR THYROID^TM

No Longer Thankful Just to be Alive, Donna’s Dear Thyroid Letter about her journey with thyroid cancer and surviving, is so prolific and inspiring. Here’s an excerpt:

“But no more my friend, you may have been my partner in crime but I’m going to have to find my way without you. I can’t just stop living and loving because you are gone. Enough is enough. I have to remember you fondly and be thankful that I had you for as long as I did and then I have to let go and find a way.”

If you missed it, you must catch it. The community shared a lot of their stories, thoughts and feelings with Donna – and cheered her on. Really awesome!

Today’s comment…

Debra says:

Well said. Nobody tells you how this disease robs you of your life. Not everybody can get better by taking a pill that is SUPPOSE to replace your own thyroid hormone. I’m one of those people.

I’m now a severely depressed person, who has become a total recluse. I’ve lost almost all of my hair, and am too embarrassed to be seen by anybody. What little hair I have left, is like straw. I sleep 3 hours a night (if I’m lucky), my skin is like sandpaper, and looks grayish, I have black circles under my eyes, I’ve lost all my muscle tone, and my skin just hangs off my body, my nails peel off in layers, I’m so pale, I already look like dead, I have horrible panic attacks, I could go on and on, but I’m sure anybody reading this is bored by now.

The person I was before has died. All that’s left is a shell now. But the doctor’s say my levels are ok, so I must be fine, and it’s all in my head. I’ve been on 4 medications this last year, and with each one, I continue to feel worse. NOBODY will listen to me. I’m so desperate; I’ve tried to end my life twice. Still, nobody will listen. Now, I’m just crazy. Crazy, really, cause I don’t know one person who would want to live like this. It gets harder and harder each day, and I hope every night when I go to sleep, that I won’t wake up the next day. The pain (mental and physical) has become unbearable. My husband got fed up, and left. So has everybody else in my life. Nobody wants to be around a sick person, who just lays on the couch all day, and looks like a freak now. I guess I don’t blame them.

I am NOT thankful to be alive. My life, as I knew it, is over, and I don’t want this new one. It’s a nightmare that I will never wake up from.

I hope you keep fighting, and can get your life back. I wish somebody would have warned me about what was going to happen to me. Instead I heard, just take this little pill every morning and you’ll be fine. I was pretty stupid to have believed that one. I didn’t know that this disease would take my life. It’s just not fair.

Life Redefined: Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the thy-strain), written by, Joanna Isbill, is about change, forced change and how we choose to deal with that changed. Another remarkable installation, that begs the question; how do we evolve beyond reinventing ourselves post-diagnosis. Here’s an excerpt from her column:

“There was a point post-diagnosis, post-surgery, post-RAI where I realized I could either fall apart or embrace the change. Those were my only two options. With help, I chose the latter. I had to go through a learning process. I had to learn to love the new me. I had to find something good in the midst of turmoil. I had to figure out how to unearth a slice of beauty from underneath the mountain of ugliness that is cancer.”

If you missed it, please catch it – not only is Joanna’s column this week wonderful, it’s sumptuous, challenging, yet delightful food for thought; very nourishing indeed.

–UPDATES–

If you’d like to participate in the Los Angeles Dear Thyroid Meet-Up on July 25^th, please click here. We’d love to have you. We’re meeting at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf On 3^rd Street/La Cienega.

If you’d like to host or participate in a local Dear Thyroid Meet-up in your city, please leave a comment here, so we can connect you with other patients.

Whether your relationship with butterflies has changed for better or worse, please submit your paragraph for the butteflygraph contest – you do want to win an original painting by Ms. Averell, yes? For more details, click here. ONLY 9-DAYS LEFT TO GET YOUR ENTRIES IN!

Thank you for participating in the “B” card campaign as she battles cancer and heads into chemo and radiation treatment. The cards of support are absolutely beautiful. Please keep them coming. The deadline for all cards is July 31^st. Click here for details.

And, when was the last time YOU wrote and submitted a Dear Thyroid Letter? We have spaces available in July, so please submit those letters. We want to hear everything you have to say to your gland or glandless self. Click here for submission guidelines.

Love,

Dear Thyroid

Tags: Comment of the Day, community building, Dear Thyroid, graves disease support, hashimoto's disease support, Health Community, health support community, hyperthyroid support, hypothyroid support, literary community, literary support, thyroid cancer support, thyroid community, thyroid literary community, thyroid support community

Follow Dear Thyroid on Twitter/@DearThyroid | See our Facebook Page | Become a Fan on Facebook | Join our Facebook Group

You Can Create a Dear Thyroid Profile and share with friends!