Give Harold Hope

I am 33 years old and was dealt a bad hand in life. Please hear my story and help me live a fulfilling life.

I was born into this world sinistromanual. This medical condition indicates that I have a preference for using my left hand for writing and most manual operations. For those who don't know, people who are born with this condition have a reduced life expectancy compared to their right-handed counterparts.

In the peer-reviewed journal article, "Left-handedness: A marker for decreased survival fitness," Stanley Coren attributes shorter life expectancy of left-handers to "environmental factors" that may "elevate their accident susceptibility." He also indicates that left-handedness may be a marker for "birth stress related neuropathy, developmental delays and irregularities, and deficiencies in the immune system." Overall, the average age of death for left-handers was nine to ten years younger than right-handers. The aforementioned fact aside, the most annoying thing about being left-handed is pictured below:


In 2005, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism; this means I have an under-active thyroid and experience symptoms such as: fatigue, weakness, weight gain, dry hair, dry skin, hair loss, cold intolerance, muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches. This condition is significantly more common in women than it is in men, however, despite being a male, I was blessed with this condition. Due to this condition, I found myself hooked on roids; I find myself taking roids every morning before each meal. If I skip several doses, I risk experiencing even more fatigue, cramps and aches.

* Please keep in mind I use the word "roids" as shorthand for the actual treatment of hypothyroidism, Synthroid or levothyroxine.

I am constantly bullied for having this condition. I only weigh 130 pounds; whenever I bring up the fact that I have this condition to my peers, I am called a liar because I am not overweight. Others who have hypothyroidism don't accept me into their inner circle because I do not experience any of the symptoms. I am constantly an outcast and have no sense of belonging.

In 2009, I discovered that I had an esophoria. This means I have a mild form of convergence excess where my eyes tend to over-focus. Other symptoms include headaches, intermittent diplopia and ocular fatigue. While practicing as an extern at a vision therapy clinic, I attempted to fix this condition, but I continue to struggle with it every day. When I read for long periods of time, I experience ocular fatigue, my eyelids become heavy and I find it hard to stay awake. Professors and colleagues have discriminated against this condition and have stated that I am disrespectful at lectures and meetings because I appear to be dozing off. I cannot help it if my ocular muscles quickly fatigue from my condition (or if I find the lecture material boring).

With all this working against me, I continue to remain positive and try to live a fulfilling life. At this very moment, I can fit all of my possessions in 2 large suitcases.

I have never indulged in worldly possessions because:

1) I have a shorter lifespan than the average person. If I bought a bed for myself, that is one less bed for someone else who could enjoy it for 9-10 more years than me.

2) Having hypothyroidism and esophoria allegedly makes me tired all the time so the only thing I would really do at home is sleep. Why own things when I won't be awake to use them most of the time? I once read an article on Yahoo.com about someone's struggle to stay awake more than 30% of the day.

I hope you all have read my story and took it seriously enough to consider donating to my cause. With your charitable donation, I hope to use the money to live a happy life where I can eat, sleep and live against the odds of left-handedness, hypothyroidism and esophoria.

And, I'll donate a portion of the money to the American Thyroid Association because hypothyroidism is actually a real disease and this organization performs research and helps individuals who suffer from the condition.

* If you like reading things like this, visit my website: The Harold Herald