Kathryn’s Story
Someone once said, “If you do not have health, you have nothing”. These words have a new meaning for me today.
The last 12 years of my life were a downward spiral health wise. At the age of 42, I hardly recognized myself. In a happy marriage, the mother of 3 beautiful children, I still thought of myself as energetic, young, full of life and promise; but in reality, I was exhausted, feeling drained for no reason at all, procrastinating simple daily chores. The puffy face staring back at me in the mirror said it all. It seemed I gained weight just looking at food. No diet worked for me, I just kept gaining the pounds. I became more and more introverted and reclusive. I managed to hide what was going on in my mind from family and friends, because I felt if I could not figure it out, no one else could. I would wear my daily smile but in truth I was dying inside, hating what I was becoming. Doctors I went to for help since the birth of my first child, 12 years ago, simply said it was normal to feel as tired as I was – it would soon wane – but neither the tiredness nor the weight gain did. As recently as September last year, one even told me to go to weight watchers and charged me $650.00 for telling me so. Many of you reading this simple introduction to how I got my life back will think to yourselves, I know someone just like this lady…
Four years ago, my mother, a nurse, encouraged me to check out my thyroid, but two years of testing showed I was within the “normal” range. Eventually, it is confirmed that I have what is called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. This has all the classical symptoms of hypothyroidism. I was given Synthroid to help restore balance. After 2 years of taking this medication, I felt no better. My hair started falling out in clumps and anyone could tell that I was feeling anything but normal. This was the last straw. In August 2005, I decided to take action myself and searched Google for an answer. I came across a website on Steven Hotze and his recommendations for bio-identical hormones and thyroid treatment, how to fight yeast and the allergy connection. A few days later, a good friend of mine, Shannon, called me to let me know about an interview she would be doing that day on her radio show and to try to listen in. I did. She was interviewing Steven Hotze, and the discussion was on thyroid treatment and the book he had just had published called Hormones, Health, and Happiness. Just like when you know the one you are going to marry, I knew that I had found the answer to my prayers for my health. I was going to go to Houston. Some friends and family thought I was nuts to go so “far” when I had all the top specialists in the country right here in New York. My parents and my husband wanted “me” back and so my husband gave me his flyer miles for the airline ticket and my parents covered the medical expenses in Houston. I bid them farewell and hopped on the airplane.
I was on a mission. I prayed all the way to Houston for God to direct my path. Heaven on earth was awaiting me. I have never felt so welcomed and understood. Courteous, helpful people were concerned for my welfare – people who I had never met before. A wonderful team of knowledgeable peers evaluated me and put me through allergy testing and blood work for lab tests and checked my bones!
That was almost six months ago. The day I decided to leave the sick “me” behind and chase the healthy “me” back into existence. The day people reached out to me to let me know that there was help. They told me I had to help myself, too. Together we worked out a plan and I lost over 30 pounds. I have gone from a very uncomfortable size 16/18 to a size 10. I have not gained back one ounce. I not only sleep like a log, but I have so much more energy than before that I feel like the “bunny inside” in the energizer battery advertisement. Thank you Dr. Hotze and all the staff at the Hotze Wellness Center, with your vision, you do work miracles every day – my wish now is that you open up centers nationwide. So many women and men in similar predicaments need to know that there is help for them. My family and friends love having “me” back. Especially my son, Paul, who tells me that he is glad I am happy again; and my daughters, Susanna and Caroline, who love to see what I am going to wear every day. Long gone are those cover-up tee shirts and elastic pants. They call me their “hip-hop” Mom now and they make me smile. My husband feels like he is the luckiest guy on earth and my parents are like wise old owls telling me that it was worth every cent to see their daughter herself again.
To all those women and men out there who know in their heart that they are not receiving the care they need, take one more step and ask the Hotze Wellness Center if there is something they can do for you.
Confirmation of my taking this course of action came just two weeks ago when I had a scan of my thyroid done. The technician who scanned it could not believe what she saw. The nodule on my thyroid was smaller than it was a year ago and my moth-eaten-looking thyroid was looking decidedly less moth-eaten and more like it should look – intact. I thank God for making me pursue my health and I thank the Hotze Wellness Center for being there for you and me. I am a walking example of what bio-identical hormones and thyroid treatment can do! They gave me back my health, my life, me!
Can you relate to Kathryn's story? Contact us today and let us help you get your life back!
