The Queen of Optimism asks: “Who has made a positive difference in your life and what did they do?” In May of 2006 I’d just been released from the hospital, when my doctor asked me to come in for a follow-up. “We think you might have cancer,” he said. “You need to go see a [...]
Sun, July 25 2010 » 1 » 1 Comment
Act III of the 4/02/2010 episode of This American Life will be interesting to anyone who has heard of helminth therapy to treat autoimmune diseases. It focuses on a man named Jasper Lawrence, who decided to treat his severe asthma with hookworms acquired the, um, natural way. He sounds like a reasonable guy on the [...]
Sat, July 24 2010 » 1 » 1 Comment
So last week, I was trying to get my Paxil prescription refilled before I left for vacation – despite virtually no cooperation from my pharmacy. On Tuesday morning, I called my doctor for a refill. “Sure, we’ll send that in.” A few hours later, I called the pharmacy. “Your doctor just called it in; it [...]
Fri, July 23 2010 » 1 » No Comments
For this week’s PFAM, Leslie asks… “What have you done (or what do you aspire to do) in spite of illness?” When I was first diagnosed, my doctor told me I had to take it easy: too much stress would make me sicker. That meant no sports, no hard classes, etc. So I stopped going [...]
Mon, July 12 2010 » 1, Uncategorized » No Comments
For the last several months I have been taking a drug called paroxetine – the generic version of Paxil. Paroxetine is a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) used to treat people with depression. In my case, I’d been having difficulty focusing and getting things done, and my doctor felt that this might be due to [...]
Sun, June 6 2010 » 1, Uncategorized » 2 Comments
For her edition of Patients for a Moment, Selena asked: “What are the four letter words you use to describe your life with chronic illness?” I could fill a month’s worth of posts with just the profanities that come to mind—but who would read it? “Suck” would be the most descriptive. “Pain” is also appropriate. [...]
Sun, February 7 2010 » Uncategorized » 2 Comments
It feels like an alien is about to pop out of your guts. You think I’m exaggerating? You have no idea. Before I get to that, I want to clear my tabs in this last post of the year. First, you should read Bob Herbert’s op-ed about the Senate’s plan to fund health care by [...]
Thu, December 31 2009 » Uncategorized » 3 Comments
I was at a church meeting last week – because I’m in one of those denominations that has lots and lots of committees – and we were talking about spiritual development. One person said it only really happens in times of hardship, to which I reacted a little too strongly for the context. Let me [...]
Sat, December 12 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
You probably know the mid-Atlantic region got its first snow of the season this weekend; the accumulation is still melting away, muddying my yard in the bare patches. The snow was pretty, but I hate it. I grew up in Florida, and didn’t see standing snow until I was eleven years old. That was too [...]
Mon, December 7 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
Did you have a good Thanksgiving? I had a good Thanksgiving. In fact, I had a really good Thanksgiving – maybe my best ever. Saturday afternoon, we were walking around town, doing a little shopping, and I felt so happy. I was giddy – like I was high. It might have been the weather, and [...]
Mon, November 30 2009 » Uncategorized » No Comments
A novel crime against decency by Duncan Cross
