Bailey Anne Vincent,  —

I have gained weight. I’ve been trying to gain weight for years, kindly encouraged by my CF clinic. Many might find it odd that aiming for a mid- to upper-range BMI is a goal for the chronically ill, especially in a world rife with diet culture and diminutive proclivities. But…

This is my back. (Courtesy of Bailey Anne Vincent) My back is old. I’m not old … but my back is. Or at least that’s what my radiologist said after reviewing CT scans of a recent myelogram, in which serious degeneration raised cause for alarm. I…

Privilege. Everywhere we look, we see the word privilege, and it’s hard not to feel attacked or defensive for what we feel we can’t control, right? Poor me and my white, thin, cisgender body. It really is so hard to be misunderstood! To be clear, that was sarcasm. And to…

I have never liked the term “chronic pain.” Or at least I never used to identify with it. To me, chronic pain was something hashtagged online for those who don’t know why their body is hurting or how to “handle it.” Chronic pain is for people who get reiki and…

Sometimes I want to give up. This is awful to say and even sillier to admit. But it’s something I’ve been repeating more and more lately. Someone recently asked me for “tips on staying mentally tough,” and I wanted to reply, “I’m not.” Not right now, anyway. I constantly feel…

Wear a mask for me. The more I see friends post anti-mask passions as if they were a political statement, the more I wonder if they’ve ever met me. It’s not about me, right? Well, in this case, it is. The inability to wear a mask to protect someone like…

As a health writer, I hesitate to cover topics that don’t fit directly into my “brand” because it’s bad business. I’ve cared about human rights for as long as I’ve been a human, but “sticking to my lane” means medicine, motivation, and myopic magnifications of my own fragile frailty (physically…

I don’t have herpes. I need to clarify this. I don’t have herpes, or Hep C, or cancer, even though many seem to think I do. Although I empathize with the Herps and Hep sufferers of the world, I am going to lose my mind if another person comments on…

If I die from anything, it’s going to be food. I have gone without food for long periods of time. It’s something many people with cystic fibrosis or other chronic illnesses know too well. After my fundoplication surgery in 2015, I couldn’t eat anything denser than pudding while the swelling…

I’m supposed to stay away from my children. They may have accidentally been exposed to the coronavirus, but we won’t know for sure for a couple of weeks. The chance they were exposed is low. They ran into a large group of friends in the neighborhood whom we love, and…