Contributed by Josh Fryfogle
Last year, around this time of year, I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease. Apparently, I’m fortunate. I caught it early enough that I can reverse most of the symptoms (if not achieve complete remission).
I was working on a local event, “Who Let The Girls Out”, doing my marketing and advertising services for that cooperative event in the little hamlet of Palmer, Alaska. As usual, I was going door to door, talking with local leaders in the business community, mostly women who contribute to this walk-around-town event. My job is help them get the word out, and to make sure that the format of the event - being a voluntary, cooperative event - and its creative origin is
honored.
Last year was a strange year, with COVID becoming the defining characteristic of 2020. But for me, it was Graves’ disease that defined it.
I love symbolism, so you can imagine my intrigue when I came across the Empower Medical office, in downtown Palmer. Their logo included a phoenix rising, and I knew that I needed to stop in and let this new business know about our event.
As if by fate, the owner of Empower Medical had an accent that was so distinct, that I recognized it immediately! Tyfanae Brinke, one of the newest business owners in downtown Palmer, was from my hometown, 3400+ miles from Palmer!
My sense of symbolism already engaged, I felt like I really had stumbled into a meaningful moment in my life. As I asked her about the nature of her practice, she told me how most of her patients were women, but that she also treated men. The more I learned, the more I felt like those unspoken things that I had been burying for the last few years - a laundry list of symptoms that had slowly been building since around 2015 - should be spoken. Right there, with this familiar voice that I’d never heard before, I said what I didn’t want to say for several years.
I was sick.
I didn’t want to talk about it, but the symptoms had only increased. For the first time, I said them all, all at once, and out loud. Tyfanae, in a voice that sounded like home to me, reassured me that we could quickly discover what was wrong. I could tell that she already had a clear idea of what it might be.
We did a series of tests, and within a few weeks, I was back at Empower Medical, where I learned that I had Graves’ disease. Reassuring me that I had caught the condition early, I was put on several medications - both pharmaceutical and naturopathic - and given some guidance on how to adjust my lifestyle, in order to facilitate healing.
Graves’ Disease - a common form of hyperthyroidism that is an autoimmune disease.
I had previously been pushing through my midday crashes, thinking of them as irrational laziness. I didn’t understand why I felt so bad, so often, so my work ethic became a liability, preventing me from healing. I needed rest, whether I wanted to accept that or not. I was making my situation worse, by not resting when I needed it. Finally, I was empowered with a rational reason to accept my limitations, though my work ethic found that unacceptable. I learned to make time to rest when my body demanded it. I learned to proactively respond to the problem, with the help of a trusted advisor.
In the last year, I’ve made incredible progress, and I would credit that progress to the empathetic and empowering treatment I received at Empower Medical. They’ve recently moved down the road from downtown, at 1901 N Hemmer Rd, Ste. 211, Palmer - and I couldn’t recommend them enough.
I wouldn’t normally talk about my physical ailments. Like many men, we’ve been taught that our long-suffering is expected, that we should “man-up” - and it’s killing us. Graves’, if ignored, can be deadly. I feel like God had another plan for me, and created a perfect scenario for me to discover something that I had already ignored for five years. Who knows if I would have ever accepted my limitations, or if I would have ever gotten the treatment I needed otherwise? Not only have I learned to tell a professional the details of my ailment, I’ve realized that I need to use my writing to tell you, the reader. Men need to receive medical treatment, and men will - WILL – ignore that need, because society doesn’t allow men to suffer with dignity. I implore you, reader, to look after yourself (or the men in your life), with empathy and understanding.
While receiving a medical diagnosis can be devastating, and disease feels like destruction, it is from those ashes that the new you must arise. There are things we simply can’t undo, so we must learn to become new.