It's very early and I am trying to get out of the house to spend the morning with my mom. Since I am seeing Dr. M., my endocrinologist this afternoon, I want to spend as much time with mom as possible. Dr. M. was a parent at the school where I got sick, his wife was a friend of mine who told her husband about my issues with trying to regulate my Hashimoto's thyroid disease and he offered to see me as a patient. He was fantastic. He was also one of the first doctors doing research on the issues around Vitamin D and had me taking supplements years before I read about it in the press. When I realized that my local doctor was not treating my breathing problems correctly and refused to send me to a pulmonologist, I phoned him for help. After listening to my list of symptoms, he said it sounded like an interstitial lung disease and wrote the referral to the clinic.
He saved my life.
Years later, I was concerned that I was not able to lose weight to get under 30 BMI for lung transplants. Even though he told me that I must be eating more than I realized, I knew that I was eating only 1,000 calories per day yet was still gaining weight. I asked him for a referral to the Weight Management Clinic where, as we all know, I lost over 70 pounds with them and am 110 pounds lighter than my highest weight. He gladly wrote the referral to that clinic.
He saved my life again.
When we are together during our annual appointment, we get the business out of the way then I ask about his family. His children were in the instrumental program at the school and one has become a respected artist. He so wanted him to be a doctor but has fully accepted that this child has chosen another path. His daughter will be running the world soon.
The appointment is like a visit with an old friend who cares for me. The best kind of doctor to have on my side.
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