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This has been a rough week, to say the least. Last week, I lost one of my oldest aunts. She was my mother’s oldest sister and she meant a lot to me. She lived in Washington, D.C., and she let me live with her when I took a…

More than 90 percent of people with sarcoidosis have lung involvement, which makes it hard for me not to worry about the recent coronavirus outbreak. Last week, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 a global pandemic. We are being bombarded daily with…

Take a minute to think about what’s really important in your life. I find myself doing that more often than I used to. I often think about the things that mean the most to me like family, health, physical abilities, and friendships, but…

I began the year with good intentions. I simply wanted to invite more fun and less stress into my life. The first sign that my intentions for 2020 were going awry occurred on a work-related road trip with my husband. I awoke the first morning away with a pounding…

Whenever I see my friend Laurie’s cats or my niece Nautica’s dog sleeping I think, “I wish I could sleep like that.” Their pets can drop into a blissful snooze anywhere and under any circumstances and look so comfortable. That’s a state I yearn to achieve nightly in my quest…

My daughter always reminds me that I’m just “Dad.” At 20 years old, she believes she knows the ways of the world. No matter what advice she asks for, she always does the opposite of what I suggest and wonders why things don’t work out…

I recently saw an episode of “Family Feud” that made me nostalgic for the good old days — or what my nieces and nephews call ancient times. Contestants on the TV game show were challenged with naming outdoor childhood games from a time when cellphones, computers, and social media…

Pulmonary sarcoidosis is a sneaky character. Last week, I wasn’t feeling like myself. I was more out of breath than usual. I felt weak and could tell something wasn’t right with me. I had my son take me to the hospital, where I was admitted…

I have a rare health condition called sarcoidosis, which causes extreme fatigue, joint pain, and difficulty breathing. It can affect all of the major organs, including the lungs, heart, eyes, and skin. Sarcoidosis affects about five in 100,000 Caucasians in the U.S. For African Americans, that number jumps…

When I stumbled upon sarcoidosis in 2002, I was told it was rare for it to cause chronic health issues. What I wasn’t told was that the disease was rare. I haven’t come face to face with a single person with sarcoidosis since my diagnosis. Nor have I met…