Bad habits usually sneak up on me. I glide along thinking I’m in control until I get hit with the realization that I’m not. That moment arrived for me on a recent morning when I decided to skip the news.  It shouldn’t have been a big deal. But eating…

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…

After being diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis, I became a pro at protecting my lungs. Or so I thought. Even now, 18 years later, I’m still discovering threats I had overlooked. October is “Healthy Lung Month” in the U.S. Leaving my pulmonologist’s office all those years ago, I thought I…

I went to bed in the fourth quarter of “Monday Night Football” with my brother Antony’s words haunting me. My favorite team was losing, and I knew what he’d say about abandoning them for sleep: “There’s a lot of game left.” Antony believes in comebacks, and so do I,…

People are always surprised to hear that I travel from Pennsylvania to Ohio for medical appointments. Whether it’s an hour-long flight or a seven-hour trip by car, they think it sounds like an inconvenience. But after months of seeing local physicians, I’ve come to appreciate how much easier my out-of-state…

People with sarcoidosis who have impaired lung function seem to be at greater risk for severe COVID-19 disease, a new study suggests. The study, “Moderate or Severe Impairment in Pulmonary Function is Associated with Mortality in Sarcoidosis Patients Infected with SARS‑CoV‑2,” was published in the journal …

Day is breaking and my uncertainty unfolds. If I’m lucky, I’ll silence it with a productive morning. If I struggle, the doubts echoing in my mind grow louder. Sarcoidosis batters my self-confidence. It’s an ongoing tug of war between my goals and symptoms. It begins every morning, convincing a body…

When my family was caring for me, they got to witness my many endeavors at self-improvement. So, they won’t be surprised to hear I’m tweaking my life again during a September campaign dedicated to that. I wasn’t aware of National Self-Improvement Month when I was trying to escape the helplessness…

It may be odd to loathe an inanimate object, but I do. I didn’t always. The first newsroom I entered was filled with cubicles with majestic walls. Appointed a seat, elbow-to-elbow with my editor, I longed for that prime real estate. After landing it, chatty offices became a trend and…

With 8 a.m. closing in on a weekday, diners had already filled tables set up in a parking lot on a recent crisp morning. Just a five-minute walk away, chairs remained upside down at an eatery that hasn’t served meals since mid-March. The pandemic has forced both restaurants to a…