Thank you note

Below is a Thank You Note I wrote to my doctor...


Dear Dr. P,
I wanted to send you a letter of thanks. Words can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am to have found you and your practice. For YEARS I have felt as if I were “broken” with no hope of being fixed until I met you.



From the young age of thirteen I knew something wasn’t right with my body. I just knew it. My parents and my family doctor assured me time and again that it was simply puberty causing the weight gain, the confusing periods, the bad skin. Sometimes the city air (Philadelphia) was even to blame! As I got older, the pounds came on regardless of how active I was. In college, I went to a new doctor who basically told me “oh just get some exercise and you’ll be fine.” He never once listened to me (even when I told him my diet and workout routine). I started to become comfortable being bigger. I started accepting that surely after all these years, the doctors just have to be right because they are the ones with the medical degree – not me. After graduating from Mansfield, Mark and I moved closer to his family. We lived in Ephrata where I once again changed doctors. This time I met Dr. Avadanian. I once again told this man all about my diet and my struggles with my weight. I told him of my concerns about my body and my cycles. His solution: phentermine. I lost 40lbs in one month. Of course I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, and I was exceptionally moody after 6pm – but hey, I was in my skinny jeans! Mark ended up flushing the medication and the weight came right back on. I was at my wits end.



I finally received the diagnosis of “PCOS” in 2005 when we moved to Myerstown. However, not much was explained to me at all. Most of what I know about PCOS I have learned on my own. I’m learning lots more through YOU. I was simply given some metformin and an Rx for the pill and sent on my merry way. In May of 2010 I hit my limit. My weight was annoying and my efforts seemed pointless. Mother’s Day was spent in tears. I went in to see my PCP and told them rather bluntly that we need to figure me out, that I’m exhausted of feeling this way and I refuse to have another barren Mother’s Day. They recommended I find a specialist. I found you.



During this Holiday Season, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on my journey with PCOS and infertility. It’s almost as if no present under the tree will match what you have given to me. You have given me hope. You have given me your time, your patience, and your expertise. You have listened to me, and you have heard me. To me, this is the ultimate Christmas gift.



I finally feel like I am in control. I am down eleven pounds already since joining weight watchers. I feel more active and energetic since starting the glumetza. Let’s be honest, what high school special education teacher is up at 7am on a Saturday excited to go to the YMCA?



I would not have been able to do any of these things if it were not for you. Some would argue that you were simply doing your job and I put the effort in. However, if you hadn’t taken the time to sit down with me on multiple occasions, to explain what was going on with my body, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am today. You took the time to examine me. You took the time to listen to me. You took the time to run the proper tests to figure out what on earth my body was and was not doing. These gifts are priceless.



Part of me feels compelled to write to past doctors and urge them to simply listen to their patients, but it’s not my style. It’s almost as if I were in a bad relationship for years and now I’ve finally found the person who treats me right.



So again, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me as a person and a patient. Thank you for restoring my faith and self-image. Thank you for giving me hope. Thank you for listening. Thank you for explaining. Thank you for being you.



This Christmas will truly be our best ever because you have not only given me hope, but Mark as well. You are indeed a blessing to us and I felt the need to put it in writing and tell you.



May God Bless You and Yours during this Holiday Season.



With love and gratitude,



.