Float Like a Buttahfly
— Kerry Wong

Maintenance. It’s a concept I’m quite familiar with. Years ago, when I was following (and later working for) a weight loss program, maintenance was the dream. The idea was that once you reached your goal — when you’d lost the weight you wanted to lose and were the size…

Whether I’m resting after a long day at the infusion center or busy working on my next big project, my TV is almost always on. It’s mostly background noise, something familiar so I don’t have to pay attention. It could be a “Law & Order” marathon or a…

“’Hang on a sec, hon,’ I called to my husband in the car, at the airport, and again on the plane. ‘I want to get a good shot. I’m sure something from this trip will work its way into my next column.’” That’s how I started my column one…

Bracelets with messages meant just to cheer me, Wireless earbuds when anyone’s near me, Cute comfy PJs without a drawstring, These are a few of my favorite things. The holidays are upon us, and while that should be a time of joy and celebration, of love and…

Ten years ago this month, I was devastated to leave a job I loved — one I thought would be the beginning of my career, not the end of it. It was a dream job, so losing it was a nightmare. I’d practically done the job for free already. I…

I was 7 years old when I saw “Poltergeist,” the 1982 film about a family that moves into a house possessed by angry spirits. While there are countless frightening moments in the film, the worst for me was when 8-year-old Robbie is attacked by his doll, a clown…

Have you ever had one of those days? You know, the kind where nothing seems to go right, where a dozen things have gone wrong before you’ve even left the house? OK, technically, I did leave my apartment, and came back, and left again, and came back again. And that…

When I learned that an upcoming episode of the “AiArthritis Voices 360 Talk Show” would focus on the difficulty patients have in getting diagnosed, I jumped at the chance to co-host. After all, it took me eight years to get my sarcoidosis diagnosis, starting from when I began…

How do I know that my hip is getting better? My back is hurting more. I know that sounds like a bad joke, but it really falls into the category of “funny ’cause it’s true.” It’s not actually funny, but laughter is a great coping mechanism. Sometimes I can’t tell…

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” — Anonymous Every other week before I meet with my therapist, I take stock of where my head is at: what I’m thinking most about, what’s stressing me…

“Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.” — New York Yankees Hall of Famer Yogi Berra It seems we’re never going to make it to a post-COVID world. It’s never going to be gone — or if it is, other variants or viruses will likely take its place.

I recently saw a post on social media that stated, “I’m a person who wants to do a lot of things trapped in a body that doesn’t.”  I felt this sentiment deeply; it was a perfect description of my life with sarcoidosis. I’ve always been someone who wants to…