Columns

I learned about the notion of bodily autonomy from a dear friend who, like me, has cystic fibrosis (CF). Before, I’d been oblivious about the subject; it hadn’t occurred to me that it was even a topic for consideration. I’ve now dived deep into this matter, and it’s spurred…

This past spring, before graduating from my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in creative writing, I had one last meeting with my adviser. We connected via Zoom as I sat on my back porch in North Carolina while he sat in his office back in Arkansas. That’s when he…

“How am I going to get old like this?” I was watching the film “Thelma” with my husband last night, and five minutes into the opener, I found myself crying. I’m not a collector of antique things, but I am a longtime appreciator of vintage personalities. I love…

What is cystic fibrosis (CF)? I get asked this question on the regular. My automatic response is: Please don’t search it online. No, really. Just don’t. I equate searching CF online to looking up your symptoms when you’re sick: Both typically result in death. (That’s dark humor.) But truly,…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with steroid injections. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Going in for injections is not that hot. (Photo by Bailey Anne Vincent) “Why do I do this every time?”…

“I want to have a baby girl with pink hair and a baby boy when I’m a mommy,” my daughter, Claire, boldly announced as I was cooking dinner the other night. She’s a lot like other 5-year-olds, dreaming of her baby dolls coming to life — except she has…

There’s a video buried deep in my phone’s memory from seven years ago. It shows me driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the summer, the leaves full and making a canopy of shade over the road. The moonroof on my Honda, the car I still drive today,…

During my three-year hiatus from my column, I endured the following: A cervical spine disk replacement, a sacroiliac (SI) joint fusion, a hip fracture, a second SI joint fusion (repair of the faulty first), a lower leg nerve decompression surgery, a surgery to replace a disk in my…

They say that the older you get, the faster time passes. At 53 years old, I completely agree. As I look back at the columns I’ve written in the past, I can’t believe we’re approaching the holiday season again. Don’t get me wrong — I’m thankful for it.

Since my double-lung transplant seven years ago, I’ve struggled with breathlessness during exercise. I was used to this symptom while living with cystic fibrosis (CF) lungs, but I didn’t expect to deal with it post-transplant. It’s been frustrating that I can’t use my healthy lungs in the capacity that…