Today is wear red day. Red ribbons everywhere this month for heart health awareness. Heart disease is the #1 killer of both men and women. I was out shopping today… Do you know how many red ribbon items that I saw? ZILCH! I saw plenty of pink ribbons. Don’t get me wrong, breast cancer awareness is important. But, I also feel that we are AWARE of it. They have made great strides in treating and curing breast cancer.
As I sport my red socks, shirts, buttons, and red dress pins, I can’t help but think of my new ribbons to sport. Purple for epilepsy awareness. I feel silly sporting one because there are people with FAR worse epilepsy.. they would probably laugh at my diagnosis. That’s cool. I can deal with that. I would probably laugh, too, if I was having to have brain surgery to control my seizures. Epilepsy is part of me now, though.
Yesterday, I was diagnosed with chronic thyroid disease. I think that’s a blue or teal ribbon? I’m not 100% sure. I’ll figure it out. January was thyroid disease awareness month apparently. Apparently, I had some thyroid disease that went untreated that has caused permanent damage.. which irritates me because they have been testing it for FOUR years, and never finding anything. WHEN did the damage happen?! If they let it go, my thyroid would continue to swell until damage to my vocal cords, trachea, etc. would happen. And, eventually, my thyroid would just quit working all together.
They are going to be shutting my thyroid down. I will have to have blood work done every few months over the next year to make sure that my levels continue to drop. I will be taking hormones on top of my currently functioning thyroid producing them, so I will end up having symptoms of hyperthyroidism. She warned me that I may feel really off for a while. Eventually, my thyroid will stop producing, and hopefully shrink down. I’ll have an ultrasound done in 6 months to be sure of this. If it does not shrink, then I will have to have my thyroid completely removed.
She was shocked that all of my previous ultrasounds have come back normal because it is so damaged. I think that my eyes almost fell out of my head when she was telling me all of this. I still realize that it could be so much worse, but it’s still so frustrating. I try really hard to take care of myself. I am 26 years old. I have worked so hard to get a head start on heart disease and diabetes. I never thought that my brain and thyroid would take me down on the way.
I supposed that I will just have a rainbow of ribbons that I wear. I don’t want this to define me. I am so much more than these diseases, but for now, they are just about all that I can think about. I didn’t fall asleep until almost 2 AM last night.
Today, though, is all about RED ribbons!!! Go to the American Heart Association and educate yourself on how to avoid this horrible disease. Learn the warning signs of a heart attack and stroke! They could save your life, or the life of someone that you love!
