One day after having a sneezing fit, junior Isaiah Sidney noticed something unusual had happened to his eye. It had popped out of it’s socket, but quickly it went back in.

“I was kind of freaked out,” Isaiah said. “After that I was scared to sneeze cause I thought it’d happen again.”

Isaiah realized this unusual event was probably related to his disease. Isaiah has a thyroid disease, which causes this problem along with others. Isaiah’s mother, Ragin Sidney, says his disease is caused by the thyroid gland in his neck not working properly.

Ragin says they found out Sidney had thyroid disease earlier this year in May when he had a seizure.  She was shocked when it first happened because it was a scary moment for their family, but she says it was no surprise.

“Isaiah’s sister, Sade, also has a type of thyroid disease and so does his grandmother,” Ragin said. “It runs in our family, so we knew he might have had it.”

After Isaiah had his first seizure and was hospitalized,soon after he had two more. Now, he is on three different medications to help prevent them. His mother says he has to go to the doctor weekly to check on his blood and make sure his medications are working properly.
Isaiah feels that because of his disease, many people look at him differently. He says that he isn’t sure why. His mother feels that the reason why many students look at him differently or weirdly is because of his disease and him missing school often.

“He’s just like any other kid,” his mother said. “He doesn’t have many friends… I just wish people would just take the time to get to know him and know how he is.”

His mother hopes that one day more kids will give him a chance to become his friend because she feels that at his age he should have more people to socialize with. She wishes that more people will understand his disease too and know that it doesn’t make him weird.