Battling a Little Known Disease

Hello, friends!  I had never heard of hyperparathyroidism until a year and a half ago.  Yes, thyroid is in the name, but it has nothing to do with your thyroid.  The parathyroid glands reside on the thyroid gland, quietly doing very important work, without our even being aware of their existence, until one day, they become diseased, and suddenly, everything seems to go wrong. When doing their job correctly, the parathyroid glands take calcium from the bones, and distribute it to places where it is needed throughout the body. There is a delicate and almost magical balance (the human body is beautiful that way) between how much calcium is taken from the bones, and then delivering this essential mineral to the areas that need it.  When the parathyroid glands start spinning out of control, dangerous amounts of calcium are leeched from the bones and dumped into the blood, weakening your bones and putting a strain on your kidneys, your heart, and your brain.  The solution is simple; you simply remove the diseased glands, and supplement your needs for calcium for the remainder of your life.  Occasionally, and somewhat rarely, the parathyroid glands are not where they are supposed to be.  They are quite tiny, and finding a missing gland takes true medical detective work.  This is the journey I have been on the last year and a half.  I had three of my glands removed, and diligently my doctors have been on a mission to find my missing gland.  In the meantime, my bones continue to lose calcium, and over time, hyperparathyroidism puts me at risk for osteoporosis, kidney stones, and ultimately, kidney and heart failure.  It also makes me feel pretty lousy.  In two weeks, I face another surgery to attempt to find and remove the gland that is wreaking such havoc on my body.

As with hundreds of others with major medical concerns, this journey has left me with thousands of dollars of medical bills.  It is a situation for which we need to find solutions.  In the meantime, I am asking for your help, if you are at all able, to contribute to my fund to help pay the exorbitant medical bills that I now face.  If this is not something you are able to do, I ask for your loving thoughts as I prepare for another surgery to hopefully find and remove the diseased gland that is making me miserable and putting my life at risk.  Know always that I am grateful for everyone in my life in whatever capacity you grace my time on this earth, and that in all I do, I attempt to pay forward the kindness and love that have been given me.  Blessings to you all!