In sharp contrast to my other two posts recently about the power of humor in living with Cushing’s disease, my heart goes out to another woman, a mom who’s had it quite rough.
Her posts aren’t funny, but they are truly insightful about what it’s like to live with pain just about every day of your life. She aches. She deals with it. And she moves on—as best she can. I wonder where she gets her determination and courage. Does it come from her son? I wonder.
It took this brave woman nearly two years to get a doctor—someone to take her seriously. She tried desperately to get people to listen to her which must’ve made her angry because she knew she wasn’t “just fat.” Something was causing her sudden weight gain, lack of energy, brain fatigue, the “buffalo hump” on her back, thinning hair, and moon-shaped face. She knew it wasn’t all in her head. It wasn’t until a midwife, a friend of hers, took the time to really “listen” to her and observe her symptoms did she finally get a diagnosis. Duh! After a series of tests, doctors discovered a small tumor on her pituitary gland, which had been releasing huge amounts of cortisol into her system.
Years later, she’s doing much better – many of her symptoms have reversed after surgery and treatment except for the pain which she lives with constantly. In fact, she says she can’t even remember what it’s like to live pain-free. She feels robbed of a normal life and frankly, I don’t blame her.
But what wasn’t clear to me is: How did she do it? How did she stay motivated to press on instead of giving up?
