From Sorrow to Joy!

 

Did you happen to catch the new number on my weight loss ticker? Did ya? Did ya?

I have hit the long awaited 40 lbs. mark!!! WOO HOO!! Only 14 more lbs. to go until goal #1. I cannot believe it!

 

I received some pretty amazing news in the mail yesterday. I am still shaking from it and can't believe it's really real. IT'S OVER!!!! Cushing's is OVER!! God has completely healed me! I got a paper from my endocrinologist stating that my recent blood work from last Friday was perfect. My 8 AM cortisol level was 14.....FOURTEEN!!!!! Normal range is between 6-23. PERFECT!!! My ACTH level was 33. Normal range is >55. I no longer need any type of steroids and I no longer have to see my endocrinologist!! GOD IS AMAZING! He truly is a miracle worker and I am living proof!

 

If you would've told the girl in the picture below that a year from now, she'd be healthy and feeling great, she would have never believed you. This was me in full blown Cushing's Syndrome. My cortisol level was over 2,000 and my ACTH was 0. I was 204 lbs. and miserable. I fought through the pain every day just trying to squeeze any ounce of normalcy out of life. The pain was like nothing I can describe.

 

A year later, here I am! 40 lbs gone, my left adrenal gland is working perfectly, and I have no pain! I just cannot believe in 10 1/2 short months I went from nearly dead to alive and well. CRAZY!

 

 

I give all the glory to God in my miraculous case. He has seen me through some pretty ugly times (both physically & mentally). He gave me a Godly husband who stuck by me through everything, and wonderful family & friends who did the same. Not one person walked out on me, even when my appearance changed so dramatically that I was unrecognizable. I will be forever grateful to my endocrinologist, Dr. Jyothi Joseph-Hayes, who pinpointed my exact problem upon looking at me! When all other doctors were scratching their heads, she nailed it! Praise God for sending her to central Florida at exactly the precise time that I needed her.

I will never again take a single breath for granted, for I know what it feels like not to be able to take those breaths. I will never judge an overweight person, for I have been the fat girl and received the ugly stares. I will never take for granted my sweet son, for I know what it's like to long for the one I lost. Cushing's may have stolen so much from me, but it gave me so much in return. I have my health, my life, and a new outlook. Look out world, here I come!!!