Many many thanks to our farm sitters for caring for our farm while we have traveled to various doctor’s offices recently.
We were in Eugene last week for a MRI guided needle biopsy. Patricia has been waiting six months for this and our GP called at 10PM the next day to say that she was negative for boob cancer. I have never been so positive about something negative.
Some of you know that Patricia was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto’s by our GP. That diagnosis was confirmed by a ND on Tuesday and a FNP with a specialty in women’s health on Wednesday. Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease, but a relatively benign one that predominately affects women (80% of cases) and is usually brought under control by a combination of diet and thyroid medication. Basically, her thyroid is trying its best, but her body is producing antibodies against the active version of the hormone.
The symptoms are “brain fog”, fatigue, aches, and extremely low energy and it also causes food sensitivity and infertility. Although she has had symptoms for some twenty years, she didn’t realize this was actually a disease until the symptoms recently became much more severe. Folks can become symptom free with diet and medicine. It tends to take several months to find the correct dosage, as a change in symptoms can take several weeks to a month to detect with each change in dosage.
Have I done enough science, enough fun things, enough travel, enough, enough, enough… After some belly aching for a month or so, my thoughts focused on the tree on the right, which is dead, twisted and broken.
The fog is heavy and close many mornings this month afore the holidays. It is usually pea soup heavy in the morning thus that we wait until nearly noon to let out the critters. We have a perimeter fence, of course, but no sense risking them out when they can’t see a predator that potentially sneaks through an unknown hole. Also, they don’t really want to come out of their cozy beds in the straw.
In fact, the sheep and the alpacas frequently are out in the rain, their lanolin/fiber coats repelling most of the rain. Their coats are so thick that in Spring and Fall, they prefer to be out of the barn as it is too warm!!! So, we built the new structure we call the “sheep shed”, “goat grotto”, and the “alpaca alcove” (extra points are given, here on the farm, for alliteration) which keeps the rain off and the wind down. Although it hardly looks warm to us, it was the number one item on the wish list of the sheep and alpacas this holiday.
Morriplum Farm Sanctuary 