Hoshimoto's in the House

When Tori was about 18 months, we took her to the doctor because we were a little concerned about her speech. She wasn't speaking much and wasn't clear when she did speak. We were pretty much patted on the head and sent home with the admonition that "all kids develop at different rates". Tori is number 4 for us, so we knew that and persisted in bringing up the speech problems. When we finally got a doctor to listen, we found that for inusrance purposes there were many treatments to try for her before sending her to an ENT. It took us until she was 3 to get her to an ENT and have a auditory specialist give her a hearing test. By then, she could hear only 10% from one ear and 40% in the other. They removed adnoids, inserted tubes, and things improved unbelievably. I confess that I was not a happy camper until that point. It frustrated me that no one would listen to her mom about what was wrong. I chomped at the bit at the restrictions insurance companies placed on getting the right doctors and treatments. I confess that I forgot that our God has perfect timing and works all things out for the good of them that love him. After two sets of tubes, Tori was visiting her ENT for a final check up before being dismissed as his patient. He discovered that her thyroid was a little large and ordered some blood work and a referral to a pediatric endocrinologist. It turns out that at age 8 Tori was diagnosed with Hoshimoto's disease. This is an auto immune disorder usually diagnosed in women in their late 20s or 30s where the body attacks the thyroid as an alien body. Left untreated, it would be fatal, but treatment is simple, a daily dose of thyroid medication. The difficulty comes about in finding the correct dosage of medication. This involves bloodwork every 6-8 weeks in order to test hormone levels. This last year we finally had the correct dosage and were happily living our lives. Unfortunately for my sweet 12 yr old, puberty plays havoc with hormone levels and thyroid function. This means that her last bloodwork (done 2/year when all is well) showed seriously increased numbers. That puts us back at square one in terms of determining dosage. Our idea of perfect would be that this first try at an increased dosage is just what she needs. The reality is that we are probably in for another couple of years of trying new dosages every couple of months. This in not a tragedy, but it is no fun. In all of this, God shows himself to be good and caring. His timing allowed for her to begin treatment very early in the disease. It has made her doctor more aware of Hoshimoto's as a possibility in young girls so that he has diagnosed a couple more girls and has done much study. There is readily available medication to treat her so that life is normal. One pill each morning is such an easy thing to do. Driving to Orlando to visit the doctor gives us some much needed time for girl talk in a house full of testosterone. We appreciate your prayers that the right dosage of medication will be found quickly.