No Tears for Sarcoidosis
— Charlton Harris

When living with a chronic health condition, challenges often seem to appear out of nowhere. After I was diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis, I continued to do anything and everything I wanted to do. I rarely considered…

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — tennis champion Arthur Ashe Six years ago, my life changed. That’s when I experienced my first spontaneous pneumothorax, or a sudden collapsed lung. The year…

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” — Albert Einstein I was diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis a year after my mother passed away. That was over 20 years ago. Afterward,…

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” — Marianne Williamson, “A Return to Love” Over the past few days, the negative impact of sarcoidosis has affected…

The easiest thing to do in life is nothing. For whatever reason, that seems to be a safe space for all of us. I used to tell my son this all the time. Every day I try to…

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” — Matthew 5:7 My issues with pulmonary sarcoidosis keep me focused on living each day as productively as possible. Some days are tolerable; other days are…

I was recently admitted to the hospital twice in one week. Apparently, I had started to develop subcutaneous emphysema, which occurs when air gets trapped under the skin. This can cause crepitus, a crackling sound produced by pushing…

Motivation comes at the strangest times. For the past few weeks, something has been bugging me. At first, I thought I was just feeling down due to the cold weather and early nightfall. But the more I tried…

A new year means new resolutions. I start every year with good intentions to do better than the year before, but I made a few resolutions last year that I haven’t fulfilled. That doesn’t mean I didn’t try; life…

“The greatest failure in life is to stop trying.” — Napoleon Hill The past few days have been encouraging for me, even though living with sarcoidosis can make some days more challenging than others. I didn’t win the…

In 1989, I rented my first apartment. It was in a wonderful brownstone in the same area where I grew up. My family used to shop at the Italian Market in South Philly, an area that stretches about six…