I was recently discharged from the hospital after undergoing a total thyroidectomy, a type of thyroid surgery where the whole thyroid is excised. It all started when I was pregnant with my third baby. During one of my ante-natal visits, the doctor told me that my thyroid was enlarged; she also said that this could be as result of pregnancy hormones, but to be sure, she would write a referral to the major hospital in the area so I could go see a specialist. She noted that it was something that could normalize after pregnancy. I followed up as she directed, made an appointment at the hospital, and continued with my antenatal visits.
After giving birth to my third daughter in 2019, I started following up at Tuen Mun hospital here in Hong Kong. Initially, the doctors said it was a soft diffuse goitre and should be monitored for some time to see if there’d be any changes. As time went on however, my neck continued protruding so my husband decided that we should see a private endocrinologist. The downside of public hospitals in HK is that you rarely get tailored care; you will meet a new doctor at every appointment and nobody really decides to take up your case. Each doctor always starts from the beginning every time you visit and by the time you get an actual intervention, you probably might have attended the hospital for so many times. In my case, before thyroid surgery was recommended, I was already in my second/third year of hospital visit with a very huge bulge in my throat. To be fair, it’s a public health facility and the fees are very affordable, almost free, which causes them to be swamped all the time.
Back to the story, I eventually met a private practitioner who said that my thyroid was very large and recommended surgery immediately. All blood tests that were done to check my thyroid hormone levels during this period came out normal. The only problem I had was the size. The new doctor calmly explained everything and said that my whole thyroid would have to be removed, which means having to take supplements for life. I was scared at the thought of surgery because I’d never had one before. She also said it would be better if I’d stopped giving birth before the surgery. At that time, I had three kids aged 4 and below so I was somewhat pretty sure that I was done with childbirth although the thought of having a fourth one existed somewhere in my subconscious. I agreed to have a surgery but out of fear, I decided to wait a little and continue my follow-up at the government hospital.
At the public hospital, I had a biopsy (fine needle aspiration) and ended up hurting a nerve in my neck during the procedure. I couldn’t move my neck for 24 hours, and was literally bawling at the hospital because of the pain. Needless to say, the result of the biopsy came out as inconclusive because according to the hospital, my neck was “as hard as a stone so they couldn’t extract enough sample for the test.”
During this period, it became very difficult for me to lie on my back or lean my head backwards as doing so would immediately induce choking. In addition, I was always choking on food and drink which usually led to violent bouts of cough episodes and a cascade of tears down my face. I never was an eat-out person but I became ashamed of eating out at all. I was in graduate school at that time hence, eating out even though necessary sometimes, was difficult for me. A secluded table was usually my go-to option and I would try to eat my food as slowly as I could. My wardrobe eventually turned into a turtle-neck and scarf closet. I did come to love scarves later on so I still wear them now. My busy graduate school days helped me forget some of the discomforts as I was very busy working on my thesis.
In October 2020, I became pregnant with my fourth baby. I was hoping to sort out the thyroid issue before giving birth again but sometimes, things don’t always work out as we plan. That’s why I strongly believe in providence. In other words, I am saying that God is sovereign overall. Needless to say that my already enlarged thyroid started getting even larger . When you are pregnant, your thyroid tries to get all the iodine it can acquire from your body. A lot happened during this period as this was my most difficult pregnancy. I always vomit during all my pregnancies from start to finish and this one was no exception. The goitre got so large that it started compressing my airways in such a way that when I vomit, I would be gasping for air and my eyeballs would feel like they were about to pop out. The nodules were literally filling up every available space in my throat. I eventually started to think that I might choke while delivering the baby. However, God was watching over me; I didn’t even feel the usual constriction when I delivered my baby. All the things I feared regarding the delivery of this baby were simply non-existent.
I put to bed on August 5, 2021 and that boy was the cutest sweetest little person I’d ever met. Throughout the whole experience, I clung onto God’s word. Isaiah 40:28-31 and Psalm 34 were and still remain my favorite. In addition, I attended all my medical appointments. I am one of the people who believe that God can use anyone and anything including medical science. All I need to do is to bring Jesus with me on every hospital visit. At six months postpartum, I did another biopsy and thankfully, the results were clear; there was nothing suspicious. At that time, I had already started following up at another private clinic. My friend from church recommended a thyroid surgeon who after doing some blood tests and CT scan, immediately scheduled a date for surgery. In March 2022, at around 7 months postpartum, I went to St Teresa’s hospital here in Hong Kong and got a total thyroid surgery.
The pathology report came out fine, my calcium tests were normal, there was no nerve damage, all my parathyroid glands were intact. My doctor did such a nice job with the incision that I didn’t have anything to worry about. I also know that the all-round success was because God was in charge. I told Jesus to lead me by the hand into the theatre and lead me out, and that was exactly what He did! I later learned from my doctor during follow-up that the goitre was 20 times the usual size of a thyroid (see below- beware, image may be a little graphic for sensitive viewers). I have to keep taking thyroid supplements but I feel really great. I can now eat without choking on my food. I get to wear dresses these days without having to cover my neck with a scarf.
Of the two scriptures I listed earlier, I particularly love Psalm 34: 19-20 where it says that
“many are the afflictions of the righteous but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken.”
My relationship with the LORD deepened during this period. You do know that God has the power to heal a goitre but sometimes, he allows you to go through stuff so that your life would become a testimony, and a source of encouragement to others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). That way, you can comfort others with the comfort you have received from him. If you don’t know Jesus yet, I encourage you to try and invite him into your life. Knowing him is a life changing experience.
As far as my experience is concerned, now, when I am privileged to talk to someone who has thyroid problems or is considering having a thyroid surgery, I can offer informed and balanced advice. I encourage you to see a doctor as quickly as you can if you start to experience tightness in your throat or notice any enlargement around your neck area, especially if you are still having children. The thyroid is usually more active more during pregnancy. I am not a medical practitioner but from my research, I found that it’s not yet known why pregnancy causes goitre in women. It is also a known fact that women suffer more from thyroid issues than men. I know these because I really did a lot of research during the time I was struggling with the goitre in my neck. I had to do a lot of research because I really wanted to be sure that I was doing the right thing by choosing to get a thyroid surgery. By way of summary, I strongly encourage you to lean on God, for He works in mysterious ways. Your health is insured in his hands. I pray for you that despite what you are going through with your health at the moment, you will be able to see God’s hand working mightily in your life. May his strong and steady hands hold you up and grant you healing in your mortal body in Jesus’ name , Amen. Please do leave your comments below and let me know about your experience, if you have ever had or are still having thyroid issues. I will be praying for you as well.
Copyright Onyi Eche 2022