I post this to the page from the Notes section once in a while, as I promised Annette I would do. In Memory of Shannon and her sweet baby I made this a Note because I want to honor the memory of Shannon and her baby and always have it accesible for all to see. I want everyone to read it, to share it and to understand just how SERIOUS this illness is, and that it takes lives. It took this young pregnant womans life.... Shannon and her unborn baby. God bless her mother, Annette, for sharing this medical travesty and pain to bring awareness and to help others.... Gena, Thank you for your comment. As a mom I love to talk about Shannon. Feel free to edit as you need because I tend to get started and cant stop.Shannon was diagnosed hypothyroidism by our GP when she was 18. He put her on Levothyroxine and checked her in 6 weeks, raised it and she felt better so we just didnt think much about it. My parents had both taken thyroid medicine as long as I can remember and I truly just did not think much about it. She did still have some stomach issues. She was diagnosed with Celiac at 22. (this testing came at my insistence because my mother had been diagnosed with it) Shannon became a gluten free warrior. She was so very careful and she did feel somewhat better. Over the next few years she helped me open 2 restaurants and we both worked nonstop. She always had weird issues (brain fog that she called Deja vu that would end with her throwing up, anxiety, panic attacks, extreme fatigue, mood swings, 20 - 25 lb weight swings, etc) Again she would see her GP and he would usually ask about her diet, increase her Levothyroxine, added Xanax and the symptoms would lighten up to bearable. Shannon had such a great outlook on life and such a mind over matter that we just did not realize how sick she was. She would often say Well my momma always taught us to Reach down, Pull up our boot straps and keep walking. (Oh how I regret making them so tough) In June 2011 she became very unexpectedly pregnant. She and her husband had been trying for over a year. She was due to see her GP but chose to instead start seeing a OB/GYN for the pregnancy. First visit she informed them of her thyroid and Celiac issues. They took blood. Told her to watch her diet, take her Levothyroxine (.88) and to not take any Xanax. She was so very tired but we didnt think that so unusual during the first trimester. She also did not gain any weight actually lost 5 pounds. But her stomach issues seemed better. She did not throw up or have any nausea during her 18 weeks of pregnancy. At her 12 week visit she had a sonogram, baby looked great although Shan was losing weight. I asked her doctor about her blood tests, and should she see any specialists about her celiac or thyroid. He replied No just continue to watch your diet and take your medicine. And she did. She would only eat food that her or I cooked and she took her medication every night. At around 17 weeks she seemed to have a little more energy and had felt the baby move and even put a couple of pounds back on. On the evening of September 29th she gone out to dinner, felt good and sounded great. My husband and I had been in Victoria Canada for a few days and I had not talked with her. But arriving back in Washington we spoke on the phone for 2 hours catching up. We hung up right around midnight and a few hours later she was gone. Just no warning or reason apparent. 9 weeks later we received her cause of death Sudden cardiac dysrhythmia due to Hypothyroidism due to Hashimotos Disease. I thought they were wrong. Not possible. She was on medication for that. And she took it. I found her bottle and counted how many were gone and compared to the date she had it filled. It matched perfect. They had to have missed something else. I was able to speak to the medical examiner who explained to me that a pregnant woman with a pre-existing thyroid condition would require an increase in her medication. He came right out and said that if Shannon had been given more thyroid medication that she would not have died from this. How and why were we not told of any of this? First by our GP and then most certainly by her OB/GYN. I began to collect all of her medical records. From her GP her TSH had been recorded as high as 199. From her OB/GYN her 5 week TSH was 5.68 with a yield sign and HIGH written under it. Why, Why was this not addressed? Why were we not informed? Why did I not find you or Mary Shoman until it was too late for my baby? And her baby?I did follow up and send all her information to the Medical Board. I want some awareness. We do not want another young woman or another family to go through this. They did NOTHING. Stated that Thyroid is a gray area. I appealed. Again they said their hands were tied because Thyroid is a gray area. There is nothing gray about a blood test result that flags high and a autopsy report 13 weeks later stating that exact problem as a cause of death. That is black and white. It has been 2 years, 18 days since we lost Shannon. We still have more questions than answers. And we miss that sweet girl today more than ever. Annette
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 08:39:49 +0000
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