Invisible Chaos — Athena Merritt

My memory is terrible. But I can vividly recall hovering over a rib-eye steak in a restaurant last February telling a lie. It only took a forkful for it to slide out. And a few more bites to convince…

Seeing actor Will Smith post that he was in the worst shape of his life made me smile. Because grinning in short shorts with his paunch on display, he shamelessly owned something I’ve often felt.   Getting…

I miss the days when a sneeze was nothing to worry about. Especially after I encountered a stranger who was not wearing a mask and spraying the air. I veered to get out of his path, and he moved…

With views of trees from every window, pollution never crossed my mind when I signed my current lease. Which is how I ended up in an area with unhealthy air. If you live in the U.S., there’s a good…

I’ve often felt like I’m just along for the ride when it comes to sarcoidosis. I’d wake up wondering what it would let me do. But a change I made in late February has given me a new outlook.

Eyelids fluttering open to a new day, I mentally searched my body for signs that anything was different. But a sore arm with a Band-Aid was the only evidence of my vaccination 12 hours earlier.  No headache, fever,…

I stumbled upon sarcoidosis in 2002, and still wake each morning wondering what’s in store. It doesn’t follow a set path when it invades our bodies, making it just as baffling today as when I was first diagnosed. If…

Since the novel coronavirus emerged, what’s increasingly struck me are the eerie similarities between COVID-19 and sarcoidosis. The deeper we’ve gotten into this pandemic, the more I wonder if it might provide new clues for treating the sarcoidosis population.

I was in my 40s when I entered a neighborhood gym for the first time. I slunk over to the least-crowded row of treadmills, and still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Until then, my huffing and puffing…

Envy is a terrible thing. But three months into the year, I can no longer shake it.  I thought I’d be an early candidate for protection against COVID-19 because of my sarcoidosis and asthma. But I’ll be among…

I view my biological clock as a stubborn, old mule. She dictates her pace, and getting her to change is hard. Real hard.  She wants no part of the foolishness known as daylight saving time (DST). But…