Obesity is the New Leprosy

            As I have suffered from whatever it is that has caused my health to fail, and for me to gain unprecedented weight, I have come to realize that obesity is the new leprosy.

            Back during biblical times, if you had leprosy, it was thought that you had it because something that you did. In other words, you caused your leprosy because you did something bad or sinful.

            Today, obesity is seen as something that is self inflicted as well. It’s seen as being just as disgusting as leprosy. I have had people who have treated me no better than lepers were treated in biblical times.

            I have an endocrinologist who has finally done enough testing to see that my hormones aren’t where they need to be. My testosterone is in the tank and I have elevated prolactin. My thyroid has also been causing me trouble. I also suffer from anemia and the blood doctor said my red blood cells don’t look right. They wanted me to do a bone marrow biopsy and I declined because having bone marrow aspirated is extremely distressing and painful. It involves a giant needle and shoving it through your hip bone.
             
             I turned to doctors as soon as I started feeling ill and they all told me that it was just a virus or bug and that it would pass. It never did. Now, my endocrinologist says that they need an MRI on me and I am too big for even an open MRI at this point. This stuff should have been handled a long time ago. I may have never gotten to this point.

            One good thing has come out of this. I see people for who they truly are. The German poet and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is quoted as saying, “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” Another quote widely attributed to him is, “The way you see people is how you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.”

            Like I said, I am a modern day leper. I am the lowest of low on today’s totem pole. However, it has allowed me to see people for who they truly are. I see people out there who make themselves out to be pillars of the community, yet they spit on me. I have also seen people who are also looked upon with disdain by these "worldy people" and they have in many cases treated me with compassion. By me being this way, I get to see people’s true hearts in ways that I never have before. I was once normal. I have lived the normal life. Some people who are like me have been this way their entire life. This has given me a unique perspective as I know both worlds. God is great. In my time of suffering, I thank him for this gift.