Something Useful

Wait, he's actually going to see them? In person? Wouldn't a phone call be more efficient? They're just going to want to go to the hospital anyway, right? And um, hey Tommie, since you know so much about Margo's family, why don't you just call them? Ya big MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL! Jeez!

Two full weeks since we've seen Margo... I'm wondering if they even remembered to bring her to the hospital in the first place. She might be back on the streets, begging for dinner rolls.

Ready and Willing

 

Thanks to Mags for covering for me the last two weeks while I was on vacation!  I'm a little bummed that I missed the culmination of Margo's thyroid storm.

"I'm ready to face the awkwardness of waking up complete strangers and explaining to them that I am their only daughter's previously thought dead fiancee, and that I rescued Margo from the eye of the thyroid storm."

Too Wired

Is this... Margo's hospital room? I'm sure the green curtains and bookshelf of encyclopedias have been sourced through evidence-based design, but I feel like Tommie should at least be wearing scrubs, right? Maybe one of those little hats? Also, Tommie literally just told Eric to stay in Margo's hospital room all night, so I don't get where this "Enough sleeping in that chair, go sleep at home" 'tude is coming from.

Alternately, Eric could be waking up from a year-long "what if Margo got hyperthyroidism and I came ?" dream, and now he'll go into the bathroom and find Patrick Duffy taking a shower. And scene!

Seriously, though, fauxprof is right, shouldn't somebody tell Margo's parents?

We Don't Give Up!

Tommie, I think you're going to have to write Eric some kind of special nurse hall pass, because normally they don't let unsupervised strangers just hang out in hospital rooms all night, even in the event of a thyroid storm. And it isn't going to cut it to say, "Look, she won't remember me, but we used to date. I'm a hero to the Tibetan monks who went missing in an avalanche for five years. Call up the Dalai Lama, he'll vouch for me!"

These Last Two Days

Thursday October 1, 2015

Friday October 2, 2015

TWO DAYS? Was this really all happening over two days?! Holy moley. I question everything in my life now.

In the comments the other day, nimuejohn mentioned that this all started with Margo in the shower at 2:00 in the morning complaining about being hot... which was, as he said, in January 2015, but just a day ago in strip time. At the time, I had a little laugh and then hit myself repeatedly over the head with a frying pan to make sure that memory didn't keep. But, my god, he's right. Sweet Mary and Joseph. You could even argue that her erratic behavior began before that, though it's pretty hard to distinguish between Margo-erratic and hyperthyroidism-erratic.

So, this incredibly arduous set-up for Margo's diagnosis of hyperthyroidism took over nine months of our lives, and happened over a couple of days in the strip. I could've been painting a masterpiece, or writing a book. Man.

Typical Hyperthyroid Symptoms

Tuesday September 29, 2015

Wednesday September 30, 2015

Uh oh! Margo's not out of the woods yet; Tommie has changed into her gray turtleneck of foreboding.

I feel like  Tommie's dialogue is the windup for an antithyroid medication. "Hyperthyroidism hurts; Tapazole can help!" "Don't leave me hanging here, Tommie. Should I get in touch with my doctor if after taking Tapazole I have nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, or jaundice?"

P.S. those are legit side effects, I never in my life would've thought to come up with the phrase "clay-colored stools."

Hyperthyroidism

And the winner is.... Hyperthyroidism?? Oh man. What an underdog. There's no predicting Margo's crazy endocrine system!

According to WebMD, Margo has been exhibiting many potential symptoms of hyperthyroidism, including feeling moody, nervous, weak or tired; shakiness and sweatiness; and of course, eating more than usual (remember the breakfast bowls at Diner?). Things that haven't come up: her frequent bowel movements and missed periods.

Hyperthyroidism doesn't seem super dramatic or life-threatening, but hold on! WebMD says:

In rare cases, hyperthyroidism can cause a life-threatening condition called thyroid storm, which occurs when the thyroid gland releases large amounts of thyroid hormones in a short period of time. 

So here's hoping for the GREAT THYROID STORM OF '15!!

So, sadly, no one wins the guess-Margo's-disease contest. I'll just look for a real zinger of a hyperthyroidism quote in this week's strips to replace the banner caption. I think it's what we all deserve.