One Fishers resident looks to raise awareness of thyroid disease by writing about her experiences and investigating an infamous incident in Hoosier history.
Carol Gray, the author of “Wow, Your Mom Really is Crazy: A Complete Guide to Coping with Thyroid Disease: Stress, Weight Loss Tips, and More,” was diagnosed with thyroid disease seven years ago.
She characterizes the disease as one that clouds the mind and as one that people don’t realize greatly impacts mental health.
“Your brain is not functioning well,” she said.
After receiving treatment, Gray turned to social media to see how others cope with the same things she was going through.
She said many people feel like they’re crazy and doctors don’t always talk about other symptoms besides weight gain.
Gray started blogging about the issue to get her mind off of the loss of her dad and eventually set out to write a book about coping with thyroid and autoimmune disease that delivered tips without being dry or boring after finding out about the people in the community.
“I want people to understand, again, there are mental symptoms that accompany thyroid disease,” she said.
She said that depression, a symptom of thyroid disease, isn’t talked about because of the stigma attached to it.
“Once you get treated those symptoms subside,” she said.
Her research led her to an article about Judy Kirby – a Hoosier who was sentenced to 215 years in prison after going down the wrong side of the highway. The resulting car wreck killed seven people.
The article begged the question: Can you blame thyroid disease for killing someone?
Gray continued researching and said the defense for Kirby did indeed use mismanaged thyroid disease as an argument.
Over time, Gray developed a friendship with Kirby while working with her and asking questions about coping with thyroid disease in prison. She even visited the site where the accident occurred.
Her experiences warranted her to write a second book that tells Kirby’s story. Gray said Kirby even gave her access to her transcripts.
“Wow, Your Mom Really is Crazy: A Complete Guide to Coping with Thyroid Disease: Stress, Weight Loss Tips, and More” is available on Amazon.com in paperback and on Kindle. For more on Gray and her experiences, visit her blog, crazythyroidlady.blogspot.com.
