I am
writing to ask for help. This is not something that I am accustomed to doing,
but sometimes life makes you step out of the comfortable. I am a mom of 3; the most recent was born on
Thanksgiving last year. They are amazing kids, Justin is 13, Olivia is 8 and
Sophia is 7 months. I am also a wife and
run a small home daycare.
When our
oldest daughter was born I began to gain weight and have a lot of leg pain and
marked fatigue. It was not debilitating, and my doctors diagnosed it as
fibromyalgia and slow metabolism. Over the next few years I began to feel worse
but could find no reasons. I began to experience heart palpitations and was
told that I should consider weight loss surgery, even though we could not
figure out why I was still gaining weight. I had also began to have a problem
with my job in the medical field, I was often exhausted and in to much pain to
work my whole shift at the busy Neurosurgeons office I was employed in. We
decided to do the surgery and I left my job to open the daycare. We were
optimistic about the future and soon began to try to have another baby. My
pregnancy was great, I had more energy, I was not in pain, and I felt like my old
self. We had no idea what was about to happen.
Our daughter
was born on Thanksgiving and we were very excited to go home and get to know
her. Unfortunately as soon as I delivered my blood pressure began to climb and
by the time I was discharged from the hospital it was dangerous. I followed up
with my doctor who sent me to my first specialist. In that time my blood
pressure was completely out of control. It took the nephrologist 6 medications
to get my pressure down, and he discovered that my hormones were all really out
of sorts and then found that I had a tumor on my adrenal gland. He diagnosed me
as having Primary hyperaldosteronism also called Conn’s Syndrome. It is a very
rare disorder and I was sent to a Endocrinologist to verify the diagnosis. Unfortunately,
though I have all of the symptoms, the only place that can officially diagnose
me and also the only place who could remove the adrenal gland with a good
success rate is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
My specialists
and primary care have sent paperwork to the head of Endocrinology and he has
agreed to take me on and would like me down to begin testing and treatment on
September 5th.
The issue
is that I would be responsible to pay for transportation, lodging, and also
would have to miss work which means I will not be earning a paycheck during my
stay, which could be as short as 5 days with a return surgery visit, or could
be as long as weeks if they decide I need immediate surgery.
In order to
give my children back their mother I have no choice but to look to the kindness
of strangers, friends and family.
Meagen Patterson
ReplyDelete7524 Oswego Road
Liverpool, NY 13090
I'm sorry to hear about this... It's good that you finally know what's been causing your physical symptoms all these years, it sucks not knowing but now it will be treated and you can finally live pain-free! You will be in the most capable hands at the Mayo Clinic, they are the best. Best of luck Meagen.
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