Invisible Chaos — Athena Merritt

I spent the first hours of April poring through television news in the U.S. Not a single mention of Sarcoidosis Awareness Month for my efforts. I did see a bus advertising it roll by…

Sometimes in relationships flaws become too glaring to ignore, which either leads to compromise or goodbye. That is now the case in my long love affair with meat.  I’ve made sacrifices over the…

Runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and itchy, watery eyes. Getting a breath of fresh air ain’t what it used to be. Spring allergy season is underway in the U.S. And it’s going to be a…

I felt vindicated last year when researchers reported Lyme disease could potentially trigger sarcoidosis. I’ve been trying to get physicians to see a link between the two for years. I used to expect…

I’ve been managing all right while being holed up alone since mid-March. But when I see my family and can’t hug them, I break inside. My mom worries, so twice a month I drive…

On April 28 of last year, I had one thing on my mind and it wasn’t my sarcoidosis. I was crammed in a movie theater for “Avengers: Endgame” learning the fate of my favorite…

My timing has been abysmal lately. Take for instance my purchase of an all-wheel-drive car so that I could get to work in the snow. The snow never materialized (Philadelphia had a measly…

National Minority Health Month got underway in the United States on April 1 with the same theme as last year: “Active & Healthy.” Focusing the month on keeping minds and bodies active while…

I’ve noticed that when doctors pitch something that will be good for my health, what usually follows is something I don’t like much. The reason is that achieving that goodness usually comes with some…

National Sarcoidosis Awareness Month begins on April 1 without the fanfare of years past.  We can’t participate in walks. We can’t gather for events and fundraisers. And news cycles are focused on…

After all of my efforts to remain germ-free I was reminded of a couple things this past week. The first is that hand soap and sanitizer don’t make me invincible. The second is…

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…