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It’s that time of the year again — and not just for approaching holidays and snowy winter weather. It’s also the season for what I hate the most: colds and the flu. As someone with an ultra rare disease that leaves me immunosuppressed, cold and flu season is the scariest…

Patience is not my strongest trait and never has been. I’ve always been a go-getter. When I wanted something done, I knew no one was going to do it for me, so I did it myself — whenever I wanted. But getting a lifelong illness has taught me a lot…

Financial woes seem to be affecting many Americans, who are having a hard time affording sky-high rent or mortgage rates on their homes. People also worry about the cost of food, child care, car payments, and many other things. Now imagine having to face these financial…

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Every year, my family dresses up in themed costumes to go trunk-or-treating and door-to-door candy-grabbing. But in 2020, I had no idea if something as simple as trick-or-treating was ever going to happen again for my family. That year, most of the world…

“Mind over matter” is an expression I’ve always heard, but I never took it to heart until after my near-death experience. It’s amazing how my state of mind and the perception others have of me can affect how I feel. In September 2020, I developed atypical hemolytic uremic…

Anniversaries are typically a call for celebration, whether you’re honoring a wedding, the day you started at a job, or a special event or milestone. But for me, this time of year brings the anniversary of when I almost died. In September 2020, I was admitted to the intensive…

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear someone needs a blood transfusion is that they’ve had a car accident or surgery that’s caused them to lose a large amount of blood. I needed a blood transfusion after my first cesarean section delivery after complications from a…

Sept. 16 marked the three-year anniversary of my first near-death experience. In September 2020, I was hospitalized and then spent almost two months in the intensive care unit with multiple organs failing. After weeks of testing and interviews, doctors determined that I had atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, a…

Being sick with a rare and complicated disease is terrifying, but dealing with medical issues during a pandemic is even worse. I went through the hardest time of my life during the worst of COVID-19, as I spent it mostly alone. In September 2020, I spent nearly two…

To say my life completely changed when I became a mother is an understatement. Suddenly, this small, fragile being was my world and greatest responsibility. I had a second child just one year later, and now two little humans were my focus. Little did I know, a life-shattering chronic illness…