Columns

I never understood the relationship between the heart and lungs before I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in 2016. As if learning my lungs would fail from this condition wasn’t hard enough to accept, I was also assigned a cardiologist to monitor my heart health, which is often…

In my previous column, I described the roller-coaster ride of my lung transplant evaluation. On Aug. 7, 2020, six years after my diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I was officially placed on the transplant list. Waiting for the call Waiting for the call was both breathtaking…

Last week, I wrote a column about needing to slow down as a patient living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Since its publication, I have spent a lot of time strategizing about how to do that. I am often guilty of saying I need to do something but neglecting…

Today’s inspiration comes from a brainstorming session I had with fellow columnists. Speaking with other people who live with rare diseases made me think about what I wanted to express in my column. I realized I feel a lot of guilt, for several reasons. Watching others struggle with PF…

I’ve always been guilty of putting too much pressure on myself. While I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) five years ago, I still haven’t learned how to slow down and avoid putting so much pressure on myself. This is despite the disease causing me extreme fatigue, breathlessness,…

Growing up as an only child, I’ve spent my whole life hearing what one Washington Post writer calls “a slew of profoundly unflattering and occasionally contradictory stereotypes.” I’ve been told many times how lucky I am that I don’t have to share my parents’ affection with siblings. Or…

My mom, Diana, has this endearing way of summarizing books she’s read or movies she’s seen by reducing entire plotlines to who’s in love with whom. As someone who’s studied the craft of storytelling, I have a hard time hearing great works of art being reduced to…

In May 2017, I began the roller coaster ride that was my lung transplant evaluation. I call it this because it had the usual climbs of positive developments, and the fast and dramatic drops. But it also had terrifying twists and turns, and unexpected events, which left me frustrated…

It was around this time last year that some people began to envision what life might be like after the COVID-19 pandemic ended. While the first COVID-19 vaccination wasn’t officially administered until last December, talk about the jab was on the horizon last fall. That’s what prompted some to…

In a society that shuns openly speaking about death and dying, it’s hard to find words to grapple with the terror of the unknown and the threat of imminent grief. It can be even harder to find a space in which to utter them. When my mom, Holly,…