No Tears for Sarcoidosis - a Column by Charlton Harris

It is with deep sadness that we inform the Sarcoidosis News community of the passing of our friend and gifted columnist Charlton Harris on Aug. 25, 2023, only a few days before the publication of his final column. Charlton visiting…

One of my wife’s friends recently invited us to a party. It happened to be our anniversary weekend and we didn’t have any plans, so we decided to make it a date. It was a great opportunity to hang out with some nice folks. After arriving, I overheard a few…

When living with a chronic health condition, challenges often seem to appear out of nowhere. After I was diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis, I continued to do anything and everything I wanted to do. I rarely considered how my health might dictate my actions and abilities. Call it…

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — tennis champion Arthur Ashe Six years ago, my life changed. That’s when I experienced my first spontaneous pneumothorax, or a sudden collapsed lung. The year before, I’d been laid off from my job. I spent that…

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” — Albert Einstein I was diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis a year after my mother passed away. That was over 20 years ago. Afterward, I didn’t give a lot of critical thought to living…

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” — Marianne Williamson, “A Return to Love” Over the past few days, the negative impact of sarcoidosis has affected my emotions. It’s not uncommon for folks with this illness to…

The easiest thing to do in life is nothing. For whatever reason, that seems to be a safe space for all of us. I used to tell my son this all the time. Every day I try to do something so I don’t get caught in the web of…

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” — Matthew 5:7 My issues with pulmonary sarcoidosis keep me focused on living each day as productively as possible. Some days are tolerable; other days are harder. But each day is a blessing that shouldn’t be wasted…

I was recently admitted to the hospital twice in one week. Apparently, I had started to develop subcutaneous emphysema, which occurs when air gets trapped under the skin. This can cause crepitus, a crackling sound produced by pushing on the air-filled tissue. In my case, it’s a result of…

Motivation comes at the strangest times. For the past few weeks, something has been bugging me. At first, I thought I was just feeling down due to the cold weather and early nightfall. But the more I tried to ignore what I was feeling, the more “blah” I felt.