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 the U.S. is among fewer than 40% of countries worldwide that…

I know playing “what if” is a useless exercise when it comes to sarcoidosis. But during a four-day stint without cellphone coverage or internet access, I found myself doing it anyway.  This disease has many scary aspects, such as cardiac involvement, which I wrote about earlier this month. And…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted and granted priority review to an application for Esbriet (pirfenidone) as a treatment for unclassifiable interstitial lung disease (UILD). The supplemental new drug application was submitted by Genentech, Esbriet’s developer and a member of the Roche Group, based on…

Many call it “heart attack snow.” It’s heavy. It’s backbreaking. Last week, we went head-to-head. In “Terminator” terms, the snow was the advanced T-3000 cyborg. I was “Pops,” the old T-800 out to prove I wasn’t obsolete. I’m used to sarcoidosis putting me through the wringer emotionally. But fluffy…

“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” — Maya Angelou Last year, my primary pulmonologist and I decided to get a second opinion about my pulmonary sarcoidosis, as well…

Slowing down has always been hard for me. As a kid, I’d squirm out of my mom’s hugs telling her, “I gotta go play.”   While racing along, details often escape me. Which is why I overlooked the initial signs of my sarcoidosis. The pandemic has changed my…

The more visits I have with a physician, the harder it is to cut ties. Which is why, between breaths behind a face mask, I was relaying my complaint again. It was a loop I had been stuck in since summer. Driving to the appointment that December morning, I hoped…

“Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:7 I have lived by this Bible verse for a long time. I really embraced it when I was in high school. For the most part, I was a…