Update on Nephew Thyroid Situation

Hv, I was looking for a forum to post this, partly to suggest a couple of 'learning moments', and of course partly to decompress. Hv, if this is not suitable, please remove the post of course!

The moral of the story that follows is the importance of thinking creatively, reviewing, considering, weighing, listening.... to options. To ideas. To things. To encourage folks to not get bound up in a singular way of thinking. This is hardly news, but here's a little story...

My nephew was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last fall. He is 13. For a year prior, I was suggesting that because of how he looked, his lethargy, his inability to just finish a little league baseball game, that he should have a physical. And I suggested they may want to look at his thyroid because something was not right. My suggestions were eschewed because I was after all, me being the know-it-all big brother. Family stuff you know.

A year later, they discovered thyroid cancer. This after my sister finally intervened and said they needed to get the boy checked out. And she mentioned thyroid too, totally independent of me.

The surgeon, and yes... the mentioning of that should send chills.... recommended immediate surgery. The parents dove. This is understandable because the word 'cancer' is very scary to people who have not had to face large health issues before. And who's extent of needing to solve anything health related for 20 years involved a pill.

The boy was in surgery in less than 4 days. It was to be exploratory and if they found 'things', they would proceed. They did. And removed his entire thyroid.

He has had to endure subsequent chemo. The first round did not get the straying cancer cells which had expressed down towards the lungs. Three chemo sessions later, which are brutal, the "C" is still not being eradicated. Which is of course part of the choice of going with immediate surgery in the first place. The chemo involves going on a 0 Iodine diet. The entire course of this kind of approach is to kill stuff.

So yesterday, the little boy was taken to the hospital because he was having increasing trouble breathing, including very labored breathing while trying to sleep. The first surgery as they learned, damaged the parathyroid, and vocal chords. They found during exploratory surgery that his vocal chords were badly damaged, the nerves had been mostly destroyed, and they proceeded to remove his tonsils, cut away some atrophied tissues, and they created a Tracheotomy that will be semi permanent for at least the next 9 months to a year. There is a reasonable chance it may end up being permanent.

Here is the difficult part from my perspective. Some members of the family who are studied and reasonable people in supporting protocols to help with conditions like cancer, were offering ideas, recommendations, etc. None were heeded. The entire choice by the family was balls to the walls surgery and modern Science to solve everything. There has been hardly any creative, wider thinking because of this initial focused, singular choice to go medical all the way.

Now, the parents are really bummed, very worn out, and just now starting to consider things like diet. Two years later, and after their son is now into his 4th major surgery. And what they are just now starting to understand is these choices are affecting them now, and have life long ramifications. They are not even 7 months into this, and they are struggling to comprehend what the real issues will be long term.

I am in no way dismissing modern medical science. We in particular have been recipients of one of the more remarkable, intricate surgeries to save a life. So far be it from me to lambaste the medical community. But I cannot emphasize the importance of study, study, study. Get informed. Knowledge being power. If one must engage in medical solutions, the importance of doing everything within one's power to support whatever healing process ensues... well, you get the point.

Am just very bummed that narrow thinking, the soccer mom and hockey dad syndrome that makes lives too busy to notice health issues, or listen to others who do, and then ignore people with significant track records who are only wanting to help.... well.... this little boy will be in ICU for 5 days, and in the hospital for 10-14 days as a result of an initial surgery that destroyed among other things along the way (the 1 in 100 as the surgeon has been saying to distance him from this spiral), and he is still going to need more chemo because the first three have not worked, and on and on.

I was really bummed when I heard they were headed for surgery the first time, so fast, because there was no additional research. None. From the medical team. The parents. Nothing. I have a very strong intuition about what created this condition in the first place, and the REALLY sad thing is there is a 10 year old boy coming along who is eating and participating in the same nvironment things as his brother. Anyway, I feel had there been aggressive parallel research, study, some of this may have been avoided, or at least initial medical solutions could have been given far more support like, proper nutrition, for starters.

A day ago, the parents said they were considering replacing the plastic containers they use to store food and in and..... sigh, microwave cook in that they have had to do to keep up with their fast paced lives and no time to create proper meals so they go with fast food everything... and use more glass. Because they heard plastic might be a bad idea. They heard this on 20-20.

I want to sock someone. Big sigh. Because there is so much more work that could be done.

So kids, weigh, study, consider. If the opportunity affords. That is the moral of my vent. I will get off my high rant horse... I am just really bummed because of the lack of additional energy to help support this little boy's journey once it was diagnosed. Several of us tried but were shut off. Still, I feel like I have let him down because almost every idea, prediction, speculation of mine has been realized. I do not like being right in this situation. I wish I was wrong about what I have seen coming left and right.

Needed a place to type it out.

Off soapbox... except to say, study, weigh, consider, activate. Tweet