Putting the Pieces Together

With Wyatt in tow, I trotted off to the Quest lab for my blood test today. Wyatt was so good. I brought a new workbook to write letters in, which got us all the way to the letter F, pretty good for a 2 1/2 year old. It disturbed me to see another younger child playing with some old lady's oxygen tank while in the waiting room. I wanted to ask the mother if she thought it was appropriate for her child to be playing with a stranger's source of air, and therefore life. The little old lady just helplessly looked on as the mother encouraged the child to play with the knobs and switches.

Following the directions of Dr. Shapiro's nurse, Joanna, I called her to let her know I had the blood test, so that she could push for the results. I keep forgetting that I have a relationship with these people. But I was reminded when I heard the nurse say, "How are you doin' honey, are you OK?" It felt good to talk to someone who had factual information, but sympathy as well. From our conversation, all the pieces of the puzzle started to come together.

• Puzzle piece number #1: Low energy, tired easily. The week after New Years, I was extremely exhausted, so much that I thought I was getting sick. But then thinking back even farther, I've been feeling tired for 2 or 3 years now. That's one of the reasons why I decided to step away from teaching. My body was done by noon. I assumed I was tired because I didn't like teaching anymore. But in reality, I didn't like teaching anymore, because I was tired.
• Puzzle piece number #2: Unexplained weight gain. OK, so not ALL of my weight is unexplained. Halloween candy, turkey cupcakes, pumpkin roll cake, buy 2 get 3 free soda sales at Von's, and large handfuls of Reese's Pieces were certainly not helping the situation, but I always seemed to keep things in check before, now, not so much.
• Puzzle piece number #3: Mood swings, irritability. HELLO! You can chat with Byron, and my poor former employees about that one.
• Puzzle piece number #4: Thyroid fluctuations can occur after a woman gives birth. Which explain my symptoms happening after Wyatt was born. I thought I was just tired due to the stress of being a mom. But what are you going to do? You can't just stop doing stuff. I just kept pushing through my day.
• Puzzle piece number #5: Can cause developmental delay and mental retardation in babies if mother has thyroid problems during the pregancy. No one wants that.

So, the phone call on Friday was a wake up call with a bit of a slap in the face. However, I am feeling more optimistic. This fix won't happen over night. Joanna warned me it could take 4 to 6 to even 8 weeks to get myself "normal." I think that's enough time to sow some more oats, don't you? Disneyland, perhaps? Big Thunder is calling to me.