Float Like a Buttahfly
— Kerry Wong

The other day I picked up my new glasses — a pair of bifocals, because my doctor said that progressive lenses would worsen my dizziness and vertigo. The same day, I was discharged from physical therapy because my insurance company didn’t see enough progress. Since every other treatment has…

“‘How does one become a butterfly?’ she asked pensively. “‘You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.'” — Trina Paulus, “Hope for the Flowers” Winners never quit, and quitters never win. When the going gets tough, … you know…

As I type this, it’s the evening of Yom Kippur, the final night of the Jewish High Holy Days. It’s a period of reflection and atonement, of forgiveness and renewal. It’s our new year, a time for new beginnings. And in a moment that seems serendipitous, I feel like I’m…

If there’s anything last week’s Emmy Awards reaffirmed for me, it’s that I love Lizzo. More than her music, I adore her as a person and admire what she represents. When her show, “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” won Outstanding Competition Program, the “About Damn Time” singer gave…

The other day, I was heading home from my intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) infusion, grateful to be back on schedule after my recent insurance delay. I was mindlessly singing along to whatever was playing on the radio, which turned out to be Matchbox Twenty — and I realized that…

As I type this from my living room, all I can think about is that I shouldn’t be here. I should be at the hospital getting my weekly infusion. I should be laughing with the nurses, still amazed at how much easier it’s been since I had a port-a-cath inserted…

The other day I was surprised by a knock on my door, and even more surprised to hear the response when I asked who it was. It sounded like he said Jamaal Bowman — my congressman. It even sounded like his voice, which I recognized from countless interviews,…

“I’m broke, but I’m happy I’m poor, but I’m kind I’m short, but I’m healthy, yeah!” — Alanis Morissette Well, maybe not that last one. Inspired by recent columns by my colleagues relating “Stand By Me” to Friedreich’s ataxia and “West Side Story” to cystic…

Before I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, I’d never heard of this disease. No one I knew had heard of it, either, except, as my mom insists, in the differential diagnosis on the TV procedural “House, M.D.” Even then, it was never the answer. No one actually had sarcoidosis.

People sometimes say their cars are an extension of their personality: sporty, sexy, rugged, classy, adventurous — any of the descriptors used in commercials. I take that idea a bit further. A true extension of my personality, my car is a little ridiculous and a lot of fun, and she…

I’ve joked before that “middle-aged date night” entails my husband and me scheduling our annual physicals together. First the doctor’s office, then the lab, then maybe a stop for lunch before we head home for a nap. Things change for everyone as they get older, but it feels like I’ve…

Earlier today, I scheduled appointments for my husband and me to see our primary doctor and pulmonologist. I also rescheduled appointments with my cardiologist, neurologist, endocrinologist, and ophthalmologist, all of which I’d had to cancel recently because I was too sick to go to the doctor. There really is such…