“I was having trouble swallowing small bits of food and I would have to wash it down with water,” says 89-year-old Mariem Emmer, who sought out endocrinologist Dr. Michael Yeh at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for surgery. “I was seeing another endocrinologist and he knew about the lump in my throat, but said he wouldn’t do anything about it because of my age. I had surgery, and it was a goiter (enlarged thyroid gland) on my thyroid. Dr. Yeh said it was the size of an avocado. It was a total thyroidectomy as there were nodules on both sides pushing against my trachea. After the thyroid was removed the trachea snapped right back and I have no problem eating. I can even eat crackers. I’m so thankful that he did so well.”