My mother always had major health issues throughout her life, including congenital heart disease and serious asthma.  A few years before she passed, she had a procedure done that required a heart valve…

Sarcoidosis and the revolving door of doctors Getting treatment for sarcoidosis can be challenging due to the diminishing ranks and hours of physicians. It’s not likely to get any easier in the future because the demand for physicians is expected to continue to outpace supply. Going in to see…

Last Sunday was the one-year anniversary of the spontaneous pneumothorax I suffered in my right lung. In the lead-up to that day, I had been experiencing more anxiety than usual. At times, I grew deeply afraid and didn’t understand why I was feeling…

My left leg has been numb from the knee down for months. It started with a couple of toes and climbed its way up. Every once in a while, the numbness and tingling will get ambitious and trek all the way up my left side, dulling everything along the…

Last week, I spoke with an old college friend of mine. He’s my age — mid-50s — and a professional with an impressive résumé. I hadn’t heard from him in over three years. He, his wife, and I were college friends in the early 1980s. His career has…

It began as just a typical cough. At first, I thought it was related to a common cold or some type of seasonal allergy, and I expected it to last only a week to 10 days. Over time, it became a hacking cough, deep in my chest but unproductive. Until…

The hardest part about change is starting. The first “start” is the hardest, whether you’re starting a new job or welcoming a new spouse or child into your world. You realize that if you want something to work out, you have to start somewhere, and you have to…

The unrelenting fatigue hit me like a bad case of the flu. I longed to stay in bed all day, but I had a full schedule that wouldn’t allow for that. I pushed myself and continued to do so each day, until one day, I found I simply couldn’t push…

For the 15 years that I’ve been living with pulmonary sarcoidosis, I’ve learned that every day is not just a new adventure, but a blessing, too. Shortly after my diagnosis, I discovered how sarcoidosis can affect the body. The first…

When I left my doctor’s office with a prescription for Restasis (cyclosporine) this month, I was hopeful I would be able to afford it under my insurance plan this year. But the nearly $500 upfront cost to fill it has put the medicine out of reach again. I’m hardly alone…