Columns

“How long has this been here?” the doctor asked about a huge purple bruise on my left calf muscle he spotted while checking my legs, ankles, and feet for swelling and pitting. I’d been dealing with runaway edema for weeks, so I hadn’t given it much thought. I live with…

Swelling, swelling everywhere. I can’t find a reason for it, but it’s resulting in multiple issues for me. In the fall of 2020, I nearly died from an ultra-rare disease called atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), an autoimmune disease in which my immune system attacks and destroys my red…

I’ve come a long way since that fateful day in September 2020 when I dragged myself into the emergency room with my 4-year-old on my hip and my 5-year-old trailing behind me. Nearly six years later, life with a permanent illness is like riding a roller coaster. One minute…

This week marks the five-year anniversary of my hysterectomy, which I unfortunately had to have at only age 37. It was a huge, life-changing decision that would affect any plans to expand my family and could be dangerous if there were complications. This happened 10 months after I nearly died…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with vitamins and supplements. Not everyone will have the same response. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a dietary supplement. The global vitamin and dietary supplement market is ever-expanding, expected to be valued at over $230 billion in 2026. People…

Bombshell musicians Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae, and Zara Larsson all have something in common. They’ve all massively rebranded, which is when a company or celebrity changes their overall aesthetic, appearance, or sometimes even their mission and purpose. These singers have all been in the…

I rubbed my eyes and opened them hazily while wiping away what felt like years of sleep and crust. For a second, I had no idea where I was. I wasn’t at home, nor was I at a friend’s house. Oh, yeah. The infusion lab. “Sweetie, sorry to bother you,…

Life doesn’t get much lonelier than sitting alone in the intensive care unit (ICU) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, cut off from what was happening outside, yet the only patient on the floor who could move around. I went to the emergency room in September 2020, not feeling…

A perfect storm of events in September 2020 nearly led to my demise. The intensive care unit became my temporary home for almost two months as I was thrust into the world of rare disease, chronic illness, and intense medical care. Diagnosed with an ultra-rare disease called atypical hemolytic…

Here in the United States, obesity is considered a common chronic illness. The World Health Organization defines it as “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.” While the obesity rate has been declining since peaking in 2022, 37% of American adults were still considered…