Columns

Last week, I shared my thoughts about different oxygen options to use at home. This week, I’d like to pass on what I’ve learned about different types of portable oxygen possibilities to use away from home. The suggestions I’m sharing are based on my own experience, and I…

In most of my conversations with people who also have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a painful loss they have experienced as a result of their disease is no longer being able to work. Some people have to stop working altogether, while others have to reduce their hours from full-time…

Over the last two-plus years I have become an unwilling expert on the ins and outs of supplemental oxygen. When I started using supplemental oxygen I knew next to nothing and found it very hard to get the help and information I needed. I’ve learned a lot and…

Obligations and what you “should” do as a patient living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) can be all-consuming. I have learned a lot about myself this week after talking to friends and colleagues. One of the things I must let go of throughout this journey is this idea…

I had an experience last night in the emergency room that has left me thinking a lot. So I decided to turn my thoughts into a column — and I am curious to hear how those of you also living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) feel about patient…

I still remember the day I found out I needed to use supplemental oxygen. It was June 2014. I had gone to a follow-up appointment with my pulmonologist after he prescribed a six-week course of prednisone to reduce inflammation in my lungs. My lungs were harmed by…

For the friends and colleagues who see me regularly, many of you know this week was particularly challenging for me. In addition to recovering physically from my latest medication dose and being sick, I also was dealing with the emotional swings of the steroid injections. My puppy…

I have always been active and independent growing up. I like to meet new people and explore the outdoors. I enjoy learning and am committed to professional development. And I get excited and enthusiastic about new initiatives in my personal life, in my education and in my career.

I just took a bold step to ask for help I have a big goal that really matters to me. Our son is getting married in a little less than two months. We love his fiancé and are thrilled about their wedding.

This column comes from a place of physical and emotional exhaustion, so please bear with me. I know I’ll regain the physical strength in a couple of days, and I know the emotional toll will decrease as well, and I’ll see things a little more clearly soon enough. As Annie…