Recently I have been feeling fatigued. I chalked it up to traveling around the world and working all hours on my Hope 4 Women International/Dress a Girl Around the world projects.
My friend Victoria from South Korea is highly trained in Korean medicine and ran a test on me. Her findings were that my energy was low and suggested I may have a problem with my thyroid. I dismissed it as I have blood tests every year and my thyroid always is within the normal range. As the fatigue wore on I decided I may as well have my doctor check me out. They discovered two nodules on my right thyroid so now I get to go through more tests. I am sure I will be fine as 85 to 90% of thyroid nodules are benign.
But this caused me to remember a woman I met briefly in Uganda the month before. I was at Smile Africa and in a hurry—we Americans always try to keep on schedule even in Uganda where there doesn’t appear to be one. Anyway, Pastor Ruth stopped me and said, “Rachel. I want you take this lady’s photo.”
I sat at my computer and pulled up the forgotten photo and said, “Thank you God that I live in a country where I have easy access to medical attention and don’t have to face the things my sisters in Uganda face.”
I know that God would have me help this lady. It will cost several hundred dollars to get her treatment. So. I started thinking if I could get my friends and family who have had or know someone who has had a thyroid/goiter problem to pitch in a few dollars to help--together we could help this lady. Maybe we would collect enough money to not only help her but others like her.
If you can help please contact me Rachel@h4ki.org or you can click on this link http://www.hope4kidsinternational.org/donation-cart and put your amount in next to the hope 4 women box and donate directly online. Please email me telling me that that is what you want your donation to go toward.
Thank you so much and God bless you for making a difference in the life of this lady. I’m in contact with Pastor Ruth to find out her name. In my haste I didn’t take the time to write it down. Hmmmmmm. Maybe there is more than one lesson to be learned here. . .
2 comments:
Rachel, since you were in Africa, what anti-malaria drug did you take? If you took Mefloquine or Larium (its generic name), it is known to cause thyroid damage. I was only on Mefloquine three weeks and my thyroid was damaged, plus I suffered from insomnia and my sleep patterns have never returned to normal. That was 1994. With your thyroid, you may find it will swing between hyper and hypo so my doctors have not favored prescribing thyroid medicine for me. Though my thyroid has quit functioning, the nodules have taken over its job. Since they have not grown, doctors have been reluctant to remove them and the inactive thyroid, so I continue to experience his and lows of energy.
Lord, have mercy. I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to complain about. The picture was disturbing to me, yet it's so easy to ignore the reality of life - especially when it isn't our life.
Thanks for sharing.
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