It all started with me collapsing onto the hard, cool concrete outside of an emergency room (ER), as I was too weak to step up 4 inches onto the sidewalk. I know I must’ve been a wild sight — a thinning version of myself covered in huge purple and black…
My eyes scanned the makeshift ramp that volunteers had made from a section of collapsed roof. I was hesitant to climb it to get into the trailer, which had a floor more than 4 feet above the ground. “At least the shingles will give my shoes a good grip,” I…
My left eye throbbed to the beat of my heart. Each pulse seemed more intense than the last. I’d had this headache off and on for over two months, but my then-new job had me waking up at 4:30 a.m. — definitely earlier than my normal — so I chalked…
My parents went missing in western North Carolina on Sept. 27, the day after Hurricane Helene made landfall, dumping months worth of rain in just a few days. The flooding and destruction were widespread and catastrophic. At my parents’ home, the water level reached about 8 feet. And on Tuesday,…
As I’m writing this column on Tuesday, Oct. 1, I’m relatively safe from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s battering here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which is in a fairly central part of the state. But I can just picture what it was like for residents to the west of…
My mouth all but watered at the thought of a crisp, cool drink, the sound of ice swirling in a cup as a drop of condensation trickles down the side. I envisioned the first sip flooding my mouth with a burst of sweet fruity flavors. On this day, I was…
One disease can turn to two diseases. Two diseases can turn to three diseases, all with their own comorbidities and complications. When I was diagnosed with an ultrarare autoimmune disease that nearly killed me, I knew it’d complicate my life, especially because I was already living with another autoimmune…
I awoke to bright sunshine bathing the side of my face. For a moment, the soothing warmth felt nice, but it was soon replaced by burning, searing pain. My breath hitched, and I immediately reached to my left side. Where was I? What had happened? My head ached, my throat…
It’s the sensation you get when you’re walking up a flight of stairs and feel like you’re breathing through a straw. It’s the terrifying moment when your scope of vision begins to shrink just before you black out. It’s your legs burning and feeling like Jell-O when you’ve been standing…
The slow, steady beat of heart monitors echoed through the dim halls. I could hear the occasional whisper of nurses and the sound of my blood pressure cuff clicking on and inflating at regular intervals. Was it Tuesday? Friday? Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, all with little…
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