No Tears for Sarcoidosis
— Charlton Harris

Many folks with chronic health issues have difficulty focusing on too much at any given time. I have repeatedly tried to overcome this habit. Each day, I’m faced with the reality that my life is different and I have to move on, but it’s easier…

A best friend from high school occasionally stops by to let my wife and me know what’s going on in her life and to check on my health. We all sit on my porch — socially distanced, of course — with cocktails in hand while we’d…

My wife, my son, and I moved into our house in August 1996. The house initially belonged to my aunt, who lived there since 1982, the year my wife and I graduated from high school. When my aunt and uncle went on trips, I was…

In February, I wrote that sarcoidosis doesn’t play fair. Over the past few days, I’ve thought about that column. It is spooky, but true: Sarcoidosis is a crafty annoyance that keeps you mentally alert. Stay vigilant! This week, I “organized” my…

Let’s be honest … Ok, I’ll be honest. I’ve found that being honest with myself seems to do me a world of good. And I don’t mind being honest with others about my health, but I often find their interest in my honesty is superficial. I…

Like many of us dealing with sarcoidosis, I’ve somewhat mastered contentment doing nothing. Over the past six months, we’ve been forced to live our lives at a distance, but how many of us were doing that before everything changed? My gym recently reopened, and I…

In order for me to do better, I have to do better for myself. That’s one of the obstacles we face when living with this “inconvenience” called sarcoidosis. One day, we’re feeling good and like our old selves. The next, we’re…

I am so tired of the overly used phrases “the new normal” and “we’re all in this together.“ No! These are not the truths we live with. Only other folks in the sarcoidosis…

Discipline is a trait that takes determination to mature into an art. By nature, we’re not disciplined creatures. This makes our life’s journey more eventful, especially living with sarcoidosis. When I entered this fight, I didn’t know what I would be up…

Over the past few weeks, I had appointments with both of my pulmonologists involving follow-up consults and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). My new pulmonologist specializes in sarcoidosis and pulmonary hypertension, making…

A chronic health condition like pulmonary sarcoidosis can have a mental stranglehold on a person, causing fear, anxiety, and stress that we must learn to live with. Such a stranglehold can hold you hostage both mentally and physically.

This weekend I’ll be celebrating an anniversary. Actually, it’s more like a milestone. Although it seems peculiar to celebrate it, I’m doing so with plans to become a better person. This weekend marks the third anniversary of my first spontaneous pneumothorax…