When Caitlin was 12 years old, she started shaking uncontrollably; her body would tremble even when she was sitting still. At the time, she was wrestling competitively, but something didn’t feel right. She was losing weight rapidly, sweating excessively and constantly feeling overheated—even in cold weather. Her body didn’t feel like her own. 

A routine checkup with her pediatrician, prompted by her mother’s concern over the shaking, set everything in motion. Blood tests confirmed what would become a life-changing diagnosis: Graves’ disease. Caitlin’s care was quickly transitioned here to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where Andrew J. Bauer, MD, endocrinologist and Medical Director of our Pediatric Thyroid Center, began guiding her treatment. 

At such a young age, Caitlin didn’t fully grasp what Graves’ disease meant—or how deeply it would shape her teen years. “I didn’t understand how to take care of myself,” she says. “I went on like a regular kid, until around age 16 when I started learning more about my diagnosis and realized I had to do something.” That realization marked the beginning of a long and difficult journey, one that affected every part of her life, from her confidence and education to her social life and body image. 

A disease that’s hard to see, and even harder to live with 

Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes overactivity of the thyroid. It gave Caitlin a host of symptoms that mimicked other conditions. She struggled to focus while in her classes, her mind constantly either racing or clouded with fatigue. Once a high-achieving student, she saw her grades decline and blamed herself for the changes. “I felt like I had to work 20 times harder than everyone else just to keep up,” she recalls. 

Even with a plan to accommodate her challenges (a 504 plan) in high school, Caitlin often avoided using it. She didn’t want to seem like she was asking for special treatment. Only one teacher consistently recognized how much she was going through. “If I was having a bad day, I could always go to her classroom, and she would help calm me down.” 

Body image was another difficult part of Caitlin’s story. As a young athlete, she had already internalized unhealthy habits around food and weight, and the physical changes from Graves’ disease amplified her insecurities. “I wasn't confident in my body,” she says. “It was a constant battle.” Support came when two caring teachers at her vocational-technical school noticed what she was going through and stepped in to check on her. Their concern helped her begin to shift toward a healthier mindset. 

Though she went into a brief remission during her teen years, her symptoms returned. In college, she tried tapering off her medication on her own, thinking it might be causing more harm than good. The result was a spiral of worsening health: vomiting, exhaustion, and her body completely out of sync. “I’d tell anyone going through this: take the medication you’re prescribed,” Caitlin says. “When I stopped, I got very sick.” 

Choosing surgery and a new chapter 

For years, Caitlin lived with a large goiter and an overactive thyroid, unsure about the future. “I had gotten used to being sick. It was all I knew,” she says. “I didn’t know how I’d function without it because it had become such a big part of my life.” But with the encouragement of her family and the continued guidance of her CHOP care team, she began considering surgery to remove her thyroid and the goiter. 

Meeting with Dr. Bauer helped Caitlin feel more informed and supported. “He talked me through everything and gave me the option to meet the surgeon before deciding.” That meeting, along with comprehensive pre-op testing and reassurance from the team, gave Caitlin the confidence to move forward. 

Right before her 20th birthday, Caitlin underwent thyroid surgery with N. Scott Adzick, MD, MMM, FACS, FAAP, our Surgeon-in-Chief. And her procedure was part of a major milestone for the hospital. Caitlin’s thyroidectomy was the 1,000th thyroid surgery performed at CHOP, a benchmark no other pediatric hospital in the world has reached. This milestone reflects our depth of experience and our multidisciplinary approach to treating rare and complex thyroid conditions. 

Caitlin describes the first two weeks post-op as the most difficult part of recovery; they were full of fatigue, discomfort, and emotional ups and downs. But after one month, she started to feel like herself again. “It was a slow climb, but after about a month, I was working, working out and getting back into my routine. That’s when I knew I had made the right decision.” 

Today, Caitlin still deals with some tiredness, but she feels stronger, clearer and more hopeful than she has in years. 

Care that feels like a team 

Caitlin credits her positive outcome to the team-based care she received at CHOP. From endocrinology to ENT, surgery to research and recovery, she always felt supported. “What stood out was that Dr. Bauer and Stephanie Gonzales really cared,” she says. “They never pushed me into anything. I felt like they just wanted what was best for me.” 

She remembers the appointment where she finally said “yes” to surgery. “That moment really stuck with me,” Caitlin says. “They explained everything and gave me the space to make the decision. I felt seen and understood.” 

A voice for others 

Now, Caitlin is looking forward to the future. She’s back in school and working again, thinking about a career she’ll love, and maybe even a family one day, something she once worried might be out of reach because of Graves’ disease. 

She’s also become an advocate, using her experience to encourage others who are navigating similar paths. “Autoimmune diseases are invisible,” she says. “People don’t always understand what you’re going through. You push through because you don’t look sick, but it takes a toll.” 

Her advice to others: “Weigh your options, take care of your health and don’t wait. If I could talk to my 12-year-old self, I’d say: It’s going to be okay. You deserve to feel better.”