Annette is Home!!

Greetings from the Markin home--and is it ever good to be home. I am Mary Morrissey, a friend of Annette's, and am over today keeping her comapany....or should I say, she is keeping me company :) So I will attempt to fill you in. Annette got home from the hospital on Sunday around 2:00, and what a pleasant Mother's Day Gift! Officially, she has been diagnosed with Addison's Disease.

Addison's disease is an endocrine or hormonal disorder that occurs in all age groups and afflicts men and women equally. The disease is characterized by weight loss, muscle weakness, fatigue, low blood pressure, and sometimes darkening of the skin in both exposed and nonexposed parts of the body.

Addison's disease occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough of the hormone cortisol and, in some cases, the hormone aldosterone. The disease is also called adrenal insufficiency, or hypocortisolism.

These symptoms about sum it up for what Annette has gone through since last September. She is taking steroids with much success and feels human again!

Today we have been chatting away most of the day, making a few phone calls, and Annette was able to help me with my Ebay problem!! I do believe that day by day she will be getting her strentgh back and will be able get back to her normal routines. From what I understand, she was quite the patient at UMNC, to have 2 rare diseases at one time! She had quite a variety of Doctors and Nurses in and out at all hours of the day. The past several days have been hectic and even very scary at times, but she is definantely on the right track!

She would like to say thank you again for all of your wonderful prayers and well wishes while in the hospital and appreciate your kind words of encouragement for the future.
Sincerely,
Annette and Mary