Metabolic Mate

The latest in our bizarre stuffed body parts was actually inspired by a pretty heart-wrenching experience -- cancer. Making a plush thyroid was something I'd been toying with for a while, after getting several requests from you, our wonderful customers, but it became personal when my husband -- and I Heart Guts' co-founder -- was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last year. As far as cancers go, thyroid cancer is really not so bad, especially when compared with say, pancreatic cancer or brain cancer. But, let's be real, hearing the word "cancer" attached to someone you love is horrible. While my husband got his thyroid removed and underwent radioactive iodine treatment, I found solace in planning a friendly and fuzzy version of this butterfly-shaped endocrine gland, which hugs the trachea and controls our metabolism. We gave thyroid and parathyroid pins to the amazing staff at UCLA Endocrine Surgery, and the fantastic surgeon, Dr. Michael Yeh, was super-excited to see such a strange and specialized product. "The parathyroid gets no love," Dr. Yeh lamented. I also tried to make my husband laugh by doodling a silly disco-dancing thyroid and a jogging thyroid, and both of these drawings are included in the new hangtag, see details below (thanks to your input, my dear readers, we chose the Travolta Thyroid for the cover, yay!). So stay tuned, your plush thyroid will be available for cuddling very very soon! We hope you like it.