#igg4

“It looks like an attacker tried to slit my throat,” I thought when I looked in the mirror after getting stitches taken out following a partial thyroidectomy and 2 1/2 inch nodule removal surgery. “The only good thing is the biopsy shows no carcinoma so this was likely due to my condition.” Yesterday, I sat still as a nurse practitioner tugged on the string hanging out of my wound. She told me…

Leaving an hour and 10 minutes earlier wasn’t enough to prevent traffic from New Jersey into NYC from making me late. When the gps revealed I’d arrive10 minutes after my surgery check in time, I feared my surgery would be cancelled. Tears leaked out of my eyes and I felt a heaviness in my chest.  I mumbled, “we might as well turn around.” But, my husband kept driving. I knew that even if by some…

It’s rare that I post but I felt compelled to do so for rare disease day. Less than 24 hours ago, I spent hours at NYU Langone seeing specialists to deal with a new “side effect” from living with the autoimmune disease, IgG4-rd.  Chronic stress can exacerbate the development and progression of autoimmune diseases. I am sure my chosen career has not helped my health. Menopause isn’t doing me any…

I work in an industry which operates 24/7, seven days a week. This doesn’t change because it’s the holiday season. From the time I started working, I have always worked some holidays. This year, I am working on or right up to most holidays including today while many people who entered the business after me took off.  The heavy workload due to short staffing gets to me more and more each year.…

One more birthday. Another year under my belt. I alone know the daily struggle to take pills, swallow food with dry mouth and an inflamed esophagus, workout despite pain, see through dry eyes, walk without lidocaine on my feet, and type with hands that sometimes don’t cooperate. I’m fortunate enough to do it. I’m blessed to still be here.  Every year, I pull out my list of things I want to…