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ALL Acute lymphocytic or Lymphoblast Leukemia – Who of us had heard of it? Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia! We stood silent, tears washing down our faces, my son-in-law, my daughter and myself as that title echoed through the hospital room. My 14 month old grandson and their first son played quietly in his cot oblivious to the words being pronounced over him.  Our lips quivered, our eyes washed, and our hearts beat loudly as those words came from the doctor’s mouth. People say sometimes when you get a shock you see or hear in slow motion. That is how I felt. I hugged my daughter gently on the shoulder but really felt like I couldn’t reach out to her any further in case I fell into a black pit or worse I broke down and set her off.

“Breathe” was the first thing I told myself and then, “Swallow”. Don’t you hate it when that lump wells up so hard in your throat?

We then asked a few questions. My daughter showing beautiful composure as she spoke with the doctor and got as much information as she could digest at that moment.

The one question I asked was did we miss something?

He had a few bruises on him. He had been grumpy, but no more than any 14 month old teething with a possible ear infection. He had been falling quite a lot but we both thought as he was holding his ear there was probably something wrong with his inner ear and therefore his balance. I had noticed that he was pulling his little shirt up and rubbing his belly. Perhaps he just had a tummy ache to match the ear pain. The bruising changed on the Friday from blue green ones to a couple of red welt types. He just wouldn’t settle though at night and by Saturday night she and her husband had had enough. She bundled him in to the car to take him for a drive. Somehow she made it to the hospital by about 2.00am. By 7.00am she was being transferred to the major hospital instead of the local one. Not only the hospital but the “oncology” ward.

The blood tests they took early in the morning showed he needed an immediate transfusion. Leukemia was being used in the same breath as immediate treatment. By that afternoon we stood around him as they hung his first bag of blood. His colour returned.

Did we miss something? I had had much sicker children and never taken them to the doctors. His colour although pale was nothing to us because he and his sisters are all pale. But the doctor assured us in fact we had noticed just about all that you would expect to see. Possibly the only thing we hadn’t noticed was acute lethargy.

By Monday morning we waited while he was sent to surgery to have a spinal tap to determine some of the extent of the disease and also the type. We waited for the results and now we were hearing them.

What do you do? What would you do?

Hashimotos what was that? Isn’t Hashimotos  a car or something?

Hashimotos or any thyroid diseases are debilitating.

Yes I am a 50+ female but was not expecting symptoms like dementia so early. Forgetting things was becoming a habit.  It wasn’t just a forgetting but a FORGETTING no memory of certain things.  The slow heart rate I had was not because I was one of those extremely fit athletic types. The stroke like symptoms and extra aches and pains and also the incredible weight gain even though I was exercising excessively were not normal. However, after collapsing as I said previously and numerous unsuccessful tests etc, Doctors “suggested” it might be time to visit some of their “other” colleagues. (Psychiatrists)I told him politely but firmly, “Thanks but no thanks” I was not experiencing some mental health issues, just because I couldn’t remember my birthdate or pick a black skinned doctors hands from my own.

I said last blog we should never just accept a no answer or the wrong one. So back to my doctor and all of a sudden she was thinking outside the box. Hashimotos. What is that I ask?

Thank God for Dr Sandra Cabot. I went home after speaking with my doctor and found a book on Thryoid conditions. Hashimotos was there. First thing that hit me was a symptom of a slow heart rate. I ticked nearly every box. Treatment…thyroxine. Within weeks two years of struggle started to dissipate.  Symptoms disappeared almost completely. I had to double the dose eventually but the results were staggering.

Lots of prayer went up too and I was well on the road to recovery.

Lessons learned.

1. Do not give up on your own beliefs.

2. There is always hope even in the darkest times – and there were some believe me.

3. Don’t accept the “inevitable”. I thought it was age starting to catch up on me but I know I can face the next 40 or so years, healthy, happy and whole.

4. Get a good doctor who is willing to think outside the box.

5. Research yourself – make some effort to be responsible for your own health. You are not a doctor but you do need to be accountable for your body.

Stay healthy. Live healthy and take care of yourself.  See you next time but in the mean time let me know if anyone else out there has had Hashimotos.