I Didn't Know What I Didn't Know.

It was 2013. I was 38. I was perfectly healthy.

I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

In what felt like a flash my health started to deteriorate. I wasn't healing. I began having terrible back and wrist pain. While at the doctor for my back pain, they found that my thyroid had a suspicious nodule. A biopsy and two separate opinions led me to the OR. Cancer they felt sure. A partial thyroidectomy and 13 lymph nodes removed, we were thrilled that it was not cancer. My health continued on a downward spiral.

More blood test revealed severe gluten intolerance. My hair was falling out. I had excruciating head aches that would last 3-4 day every single week. The doctors were not able to regulate my thyroid. Sometimes I walked with a limp because my ankle and foot hurt so badly. The constant pain from my back was breaking me down physically and mentally. My stomach was a disaster. My face was breaking out like a teenager. I could hardly hold my eyes open and the thought of a quick nap at a stop was like a dream. Sometimes, carrying on a conversation was exhausting. I couldn’t remember things like what we did for my children’s birthday celebrations. Words slipped my mind, I would forget what I was talking about mid sentence. The thought of dementia crossed my mind multiple times a day. I had a constant urge to urinate, especially at bedtime. I was so scared.

My heart was breaking. I couldn’t hold my little Lyra from the time she was 2-6….. even holding her hand caused more pain. Ultrasounds of my bladder, uterus, biopsies, MRI’s of my back and neck, stool testing, PRP Stem Cell therapy…I was now seeing an internist, an endocrinologist, an orthopedist, a chiropractor, a nutritionist, a neurologist, a gynecologist, a physical therapist and was being referred to a rheumatologist. You can imagine the amounts of medications that were being thrown my way but without an explantation of why. I couldn’t bring myself to take them.

And if that wasn’t enough, we were now ruling out cancer again. A suspicious place on my breast and an elevated CA125 (a tumor marker for ovarian cancer). Thank God, a mammogram, pelvic and rectal exam as well as ultrasound revealed both suspicions were negative. Doctors would continue to have a CA125 drawn every 6 months to monitor my levels.

The pain and the fear intensified. I continued searching for answers. I would find the root cause of this. I would get better. I would be my best advocate.

I had to.