Columns

When people first think about disease or disability, they usually go to the physical symptoms — understandably, since they’re the most visible. But a chronic illness can affect all aspects of life. The emotional, social, mental, and financial implications can be grueling for patients, too. As a patient diagnosed…

Have you seen the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso“? In it, Lasso is a fictional U.S. football coach who was recruited to manage a soccer club in the U.K. He was recruited because he knew nothing of European football. The club’s owner, Rebecca Welton, wanted the team to…

This column is my 100th for Pulmonary Fibrosis News. Thank you for allowing me to share my journey with you every week. I’ve been humbled by so many of you who feel comfortable sharing your stories with me and other readers. I’ve recently returned from the Pulmonary Fibrosis…

As patients, it’s crucial to know our bodies and the care they need. Understanding the complex ways that a chronic condition like pulmonary fibrosis may affect us over time, as well as the options available to treat and manage symptoms, is important for long-term quality of life.

My mother passed away in the final hours of Thanksgiving Day three years ago. Just a week before that, I lost my stepsister, too. Understandably, it was a time of deep loss for me. At the time, COVID-19 was spreading at an alarming rate, so, like many others, I…

Grief is one of the more complex emotions we experience. In my practice as a therapist, I regularly support people who are grieving, and I have a variety of therapeutic ways to respond to someone who is processing loss. The most common strategy is to validate grief’s myriad effects on…

Veterans Day is approaching on Nov. 11, and most of us know someone who served in the military. For this column, I’d like to honor someone who left behind some promising words of the highest degree. During a recent conversation, the person I was chatting with brought up my…

Early last week, the temperature here at Lake Anna, Virginia, was in the mid-80s, which was uncharacteristic for an October afternoon. By the end of the week, the highs were barely above 50 F, and frost would greet the morning sun. I started each day with a sense of awe…

Today is traditionally a day for trick-or-treating, haunted houses, pumpkin patches, hay rides, and of course, pumpkin “chunkin’”. I have always enjoyed Halloween, the scariest day of the year for many. I mentioned last week that my wife, Susan, and I host a Halloween costume party each year. Costumed partygoers and…

The pulmonary fibrosis (PF) community is not a stranger to stress. Regardless of your role, whether as a patient, caregiver, or transplant recipient, you’ve likely experienced it. The stress could be white coat syndrome or come from a test, procedure, or the many unknowns associated with living…