A change in seasons is underway here in Virginia, and across the mid-Atlantic. Trees that were once lush and green are now exploding with fiery red, burnt orange, and golden hues. All of those leaves have also begun to fall from the trees to the ground. Firewood is stacked and…
Columns
When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in January 2017, it felt like my entire world had shrunk. My wife and caregiver, Susan, and I were suddenly alone on an island. I’m confident many feel this way after receiving a diagnosis. However, a rare, incurable disease can…
I have begun a new, educational phase in my life: I’m working to become a patient advocate. Honestly, I’d never thought about patient advocacy until I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in December 2019. But it became extremely important to me when I realized that my…
Greetings from Griefville. This column comes in three parts. Part 1: Grief is the worst Five years ago, I lost my cousin Charlie to lung cancer. He went to the emergency room with what he thought was pneumonia, and six weeks later, he was gone. It was a cold, dark…
The benefits of mindfulness are becoming more prevalent in literature. A quick search on social media or Google will reveal not only the importance of practicing mindfulness regularly, but also an abundance of self-led practice videos and articles about the topic. However, I wish the benefits of mindfulness for those…
Those who follow my column know that one of my passions is cooking. It always has been. My wife, Susan, and I usually eat meals I prepare using little to no prepackaged ingredients. Dinner usually included wine for me. But what I can eat and drink changed on July…
Learning to live with a chronic illness is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my young adult life. It’s stressful mentally, financially, socially, and emotionally. That’s in addition to the difficult physical challenges. Sometimes that stress manifests in ways I’m not proud of. Since my diagnosis of idiopathic…
I have a weight problem. But the bigger problem is that no one believes that I don’t choose to be this way. I’m an overweight, middle-aged woman fighting pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and going through menopause. As such, it takes double the effort to lose weight — especially since…
How many times have you heard someone start a story with “before the pandemic”? It has become a common refrain for the past two-plus years. While my idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and a pandemic don’t make good bedfellows, they joined forces to eliminate one of our passions, travel. Before…
While working on today’s column, I considered writing about my birthday on Oct. 4. Then, a topic came to me quite unexpectedly. On Monday, Sept. 26, I had to go to the hospital. Since the pandemic began, I’ve been careful to avoid large crowds in enclosed spaces and to…
