Chickens have mothers too

That title sets me off on the wrong track because I don't want to talk about mothers at all, but it is something that popped up on my mind and I decided to use it and see what would become of it. I don't want to talk about chickens either, not knowing that much about them except that they are not treated very well in the bio-industry and that I don't eat them. Maybe later in this blog post the reason for the title will become clear. 

This afternoon I have my appointment with the eye specialist, but I think I already know what the problem is. Forty years ago, I had Graves disease of my thyroid and had surgery done on it. Since that time I take thyroid hormones every day. I think this time I have Graves eye disease, medically known as Graves Orbitopathy. Both forms are autoimmune diseases of which the cause is really unknown, but it has a tendency to run in families. My younger sister had them both at the same time in her early twenties and I was nineteen when I had my surgery. 

I would be surprised if I were wrong about my self diagnosis. I have looked up the most common eye diseases and none of them fit as well. I am fairly confident that this is what has been bothering me all this time. 

I had goiter when I was a child and my mother finally took me to the doctor when I was eleven years old. He prescribed medication of which I didn't understand the use at the time, but of which I now know that is was to slow down my overactive thyroid. My mother did not make sure that I took this medication and I was not aware of its importance. There was never a follow up appointment with the doctor and as I grew older, the goiter grew worse until I became very ill. That is why I hate ignorance so much. 

Whenever someone asked, "Why is Irene's throat so thick?" my mother answered, "Oh yes, Irene has goiter," as if that explained everything. She never said, "Irene needs medicine or she'll get very sick," so I just came to accept that I had this condition. 

Child neglect.