Invisible Chaos — Athena Merritt

It’s easy to feel grateful when everything is going your way, but when you hit a rough patch, it helps to count your blessings. Stress has a clear impact on health and was…

I recently met a newly retired teacher at the laundromat. I was holding a book I had loved for the first 200 pages, but then lost interest in. She gave me the same advice…

Last month, I decided to take a break from Twitter. It is the only social media site I use, despite the grumblings of Facebook-obsessed family and friends. My only regret is not doing it…

Weeks after getting a script for what I hoped would be a cheaper alternative to Restasis (cyclosporine emulsion), I was reminded of why so many prescription medications are unaffordable. Three pharmaceutical companies recently…

Twice in the past month, a charley horse in my right calf has ripped me from blissful sleep. Even though prednisone wasn’t to blame for the agonizing 4 a.m. wake-up calls, it’s the…

Finding an escape in football Prior to my sarcoidosis diagnosis, the National Football League (NFL) got my attention once a year when the Super Bowl aired. That only changed if my hometown team had…

If you have become disabled as a result of sarcoidosis or another health condition, searching for ways to save on medical and prescription costs is often at the top of your mind. But…

Severe chronic pain is a part of life for many of us with sarcoidosis, even with the use of pain medications. I’ve come to cope with my round-the-clock pain by accepting it as…

I never know when it will happen. Someone speaks to me and their words land in my ears as if they are in some foreign language or secret alien code. I stand there with…

Physicians often see us at our worst. Remembering to be mindful of how we treat them could go a long way to help bolster their thinning ranks, which results in fewer hours. Physician turnover…

The power of perseverance Marvel Studios is rereleasing “Avengers: Endgame” with new footage this Friday, June 28, in a final push to topple the box office record set by “Avatar.” Whether you are…

All too often in my management of sarcoidosis, I find myself falling into survival mode and living moment to moment, just trying to stave off the worst. Various factors will nudge me there.