Last Week Off!

So this is my last week off of work. I am driving my car around and don't feel like I'm a danger to anyone any longer. I still need to regain my strength and have started walking. Last night I walked from our parking spot to the Sounders Game, which isn't a small walk. Plus up and down stairs. It was tough but I did it. So I just need to keep doing some walking every day. It's been raining hard around here so I'm glad I have a treadmill and an eliptical machine. That will help. I'm actually looking forward to going back. I miss my kids on my route. They are all so sweet. Plus I actually miss driving the big old bus! I also miss all my friends at work. I have some real TRUE friends there? Some that actually donated SICK time to me!! They shared their own sick leave, that they earned for themselves, with me! I am not sure how much yet and I don't know who, and I don't know if I can even find out so I can thank them. I need to look into this. So if you are one of those friends that were able and willing to do that, THANK-YOU from the the bottom of my heart! My family thanks you too! Such a gift and I hope I can pay it forward to somebody someday. I am so very humbled that anyone would help me in this way. Thank you for helping me keep my health benefits. Thank you for your support. Thank you for everything!! I am feeling much better. Just a couple of weeks ago I could hardly hold my head up off the pillow. It's just amazing to me how much better I feel now that I've been back on my thyroid medicine. I never realized how much our thyroid does for our body. How much it affects our brains. I just found out recently that if you don't have any thyroid horomone for so many days (I was told 21 days, that you will go into a coma and eventually die). So this explains why I felt like I WAS DYING!!! *LOL* Here is some information I found that I thought was interesting and explains this. CAN YOU LIVE WITHOUT A THYROID?? There's a small, butterfly-shaped organ that lies in the neck just below the Adam's apple called the thyroid gland. Most people take this hard-working organ for granted. But don't underestimate its importance. Can you live without a thyroid gland - or is it necessary to sustain life? Can You Live Without a Thyroid Gland? You can live without a thyroid gland, but you won't survive very long without the hormones this gland produces. These hormones, T3 and T4, have an effect on every cell in the body by controlling the rate with which they use energy and oxygen - the body's metabolic rate. Not surprisingly, people who are deficient in thyroid hormone, a condition called hypothyroidism, gain weight and feel very tired. Because of the role thyroid hormone plays in brain function, a deficiency of thyroid hormone can cause depression, memory problems, and even psychosis. So important is the role of thyroid hormone in growth and development that if a deficiency occurs early in life it can cause severe mental retardation and serious growth delays. Even in cases of thyroid hormone deficiency, the body still produces enough thyroid hormone to sustain life. With no thyroid hormone, bodily functions would soon grind to a halt as cells are no longer able to produce energy. Can you live without a thyroid gland? Not for long - unless you replace the missing hormones the thyroid produces. Some People Do Live Without a Thyroid Gland Even though the hormones the thyroid produces are essential to life, some people do live without a thyroid gland. Some people have most or all of their thyroid gland removed because of thyroid cancer or due to a severely overactive thyroid gland that doesn't respond to other treatment. A very small percentage of people are born without a thyroid gland. Fortunately, the missing thyroid hormone can be replaced with synthetic thyroid hormone. People taking synthetic thyroid hormone can lead a normal life, although it's important to keep their thyroid hormone levels regulated by checking blood levels regularly. Can You Live Without a Thyroid? Yes, but only if you replace the missing thyroid hormones. These hormones are necessary for human life. References: Merck Manual. Eighteenth edition. 2006.