How This Olympic Track & Field Athlete Is Reclaiming Her Life After 30 Years Of Searching For A Diagnosis

It all goes back 30 years. Just as my career was taking off as an Olympic track & field athlete, I knew something was wrong in my body. I started rapidly losing weight. I was always tired, but I couldn’t sleep. When I did sleep, my eyes didn’t close, because they were bulging, painful, and irritated. 

At that point, I started just picking names of doctors out of provider books, desperate to find someone who would know what was happening. Then finally, in 1990, I was diagnosed with Graves' disease, which is an autoimmune disorder, and it causes hyperthyroidism. That was the cause of so many of my symptoms, and I was so grateful to finally have some answers. 

Two and a half years later, I won my first Olympic gold medal. And I thought, ‘hey, I'm starting to get my life back on track.’ But, unfortunately, that wasn't the case. 

My Graves' disease was under control, but the eye issues continued—bulging, pain, redness, grainy vision. I remember asking other people on the track if the hurdles were blurry to them, because they were always so blurry to me. I describe it as looking through fascia, that’s how distorted my vision was. 

So I figured out how to navigate it, and not mention anything to anyone. For instance, I didn’t even tell my husband that I could barely see while I was driving at night, because the headlights of oncoming cars felt blinding to me and I had to really concentrate to stay in my lane. If we were going on a trip, I’d offer to drive during the day, and ask him to drive at night. 

It got so bad, I started doing my own research on the internet, and I came across a survey about eye problems. I answered all the questions, and then at the end, the survey asked if I’d like to find a specialist in my neighborhood. 

A chronic condition is something that you have for your lifetime, and it wears on you. Those symptoms have such a profound effect on your self confidence. I remember at times when I was experiencing my symptoms, I covered up the mirrors in my home. I couldn't stand the person that was looking back at me—yet doctors were telling me everything was normal.

I always tell people, you know your body best, probably better than the doctor you see maybe once or twice a year. So if you feel something is off, you have to say something.

I also want people to know that if you have Graves' disease, it's very important for you to focus on your eye health. The stats tell us that up to 50% of people who have Graves Disease may develop TED.

What makes it challenging is the doctor who specializes in overseeing your Graves' disease is not the doctor trained to oversee your thyroid eye disease. The doctor treating your Graves’ may not even know about TED, because while Graves’ and TED are related, they're separate—and they need to be treated separately by different specialists. Had I known 30 years ago, what I know now, I would have rushed to a TED specialist at the first sign of my eye symptoms.

When I competed in track & field, I had a great team of coaches, a nutritionist, and my masseuse who were all there to help me perform at my best. After my Graves' diagnosis, my doctor and endocrinologist became an important part of that picture. Thirty years later I added my TED Eye Specialists—and now I finally have my complete care team. 

With this strong team supporting me, I can set goals for what I want to do, and then actually have the energy to follow through—because my care team has taken great care of me. Now, my life is back in my hands.