"what happened to your neck?"

"what happened to your neck?" it all started around 3-4 years ago (i was 13) when my doctor noticed a small bump in my neck, she told us it was probably nothing, but to get an ultrasound just in case. we're so lucky she randomly noticed this bump because it kept growing. it turned out that i had multiple cysts growing on my thyroid. (this does run in the family.) "The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the lower front of the neck that produces hormones to regulate your body's metabolism, affecting heart rate, energy levels, and temperature." (js incase you didn't know!) after multiple ultrasounds and biopsies luckily we confirmed that none were cancerous, but they're unfortunately solid and unable to be drained, plus very painful for me. in the end, we decided for me to have a full thyroidectomy, meaning they removed my entire thyroid including the cysts growing on it. after the surgery, i did and still do have to take a medication to replace the hormones that my thyroid provided, i have to take these for the rest of my life. *fast forward 3-4 years* (i am now 17) while i was doing my makeup, i noticed a small bump on the left side of my throat. i tried not to think too much of it and js ignored it. (barelyyy visible, ik) (slightly bigger) it just kept on growing. more ultrasounds and more biopsies revealed that my surgeon from 3-4 years ago accidentally left thyroid tissue in my neck while removing my thyroid, causing cysts to grow again. the cysts were, once again, not cancerous but very painful for me. so we decided to have me get surgery again to remove the rest of the thyroid tissue and cysts. i'm now 8 months post-op and am doing amazing. i'm so grateful for the doctors that helped me and for the opportunities i have today! 💙