Patient shares thank you message in hometown newspaper

Maricela Suarez was so grateful to her physicians, she said thank you in an article in her hometown newspaper, the Raymondville Chronicle. She wanted to recognize the physicians who helped her identify an issue that other physicians could not figure out.

“I was gaining weight and not feeling well. My doctors told me ‘You have a lot of calcium in your body,’” said Maricela Suarez. “I said ‘what do I do? Do I stop drinking milk?’ One physician told me I needed open-heart surgery.”

Maricela said her daughter urged her to get a second opinion. She finally saw an endocrinologist who found an issue with her parathyroid gland.

“He told me the gland in my neck was sending the calcium haywire. It was sending the calcium to the wrong place — not my bones. That’s why I had osteoporosis.”

Russell Woodward, MD, General Surgeon at Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant, removed one of four parathyroid glands from her neck. The gland, usually the size of a mustard seed, was the size of a small grape.

“An overactive parathyroid gland can cause hypercalcemia, too much calcium in the body,” said Dr. Woodard. “That creates problems for your circulation, bones, and can contribute to fatigue.”

Dr. Woodard removed one of the glands, so the other glands could regulate her calcium appropriately.

“He did the incision on a wrinkle in my neck, so when it heals, you will not see the scar,” said Maricela. “He was very thoughtful about that.”

Today, Maricela said she has lost weight, has more energy, and is feeling wonderful.

Learn more about surgery at Methodist Hospital | Specialty and Transplant.