| Marty Feldman's bulging eyes were the result of Graves Disease. |
Graves Disease, named after Sir Robert Graves in the early 19th century, is a disease of the thyroid gland which in turn affects every cell in the body. Years ago at age 34 I got a raging case of Graves Disease which was diagnosed by a close friend who was a dermatologist and my "race track buddy". He sent me to the hospital for blood tests and neck X-rays where a doctor there commented that I was very very sick and that this was "not good for someone who is 34 years old." I burst into tears thinking I was going to die and leave my children orphans.
But then a week later with test results in hand my friend the dermatologist told me, "I have good news and bad news." I asked for the bad news first, then the good. He said, "The bad news is that you have a very severe, off the charts, case of Graves Disease. The good news is that you will be just fine. This is completely treatable." (This disease was a large factor in my conversion to the Catholic Church. Today I thank God for having loved me enough to send it as my Great Wake Up Call.)
