Columns

Recently, I found myself unintentionally listening in on a phone conversation between two family members. They were talking about a sudden death, an emotional subject. But the tone of their conversation was rigid, with information relayed in brisk staccato. They were talking, but I wondered, were they connecting? Did this…

Knowing my life expectancy due to cystic fibrosis (CF) used to play tricks on my mind. Who am I kidding? It still does sometimes. For the first several years of my life, CF was known as a childhood disease because many people didn’t live into adulthood. With…

I’m always nervous about diving back into work after being out of commission. In this case, I’m referring to the monthlong hiatus I took from writing this column. I was hesitant to pause my writing for Cystic Fibrosis News Today. What if I disappoint my editors or my audience? Even…

This past March, I found myself in Baltimore to get my nose swabbed. “Isn’t that a little out of the way for a COVID-19 test? You’re from New Jersey. Baltimore is hours away!” Well, I can assure you that it wasn’t a COVID-19 test, nor a regular nose swab. In…

I’m the proud product of a Jesuit education. For eight years, I studied under the tutelage of wise educators who were Jesuits, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church that was formed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. The modern calling card of Jesuit education is…

The pain scale has never made sense to me. It’s probably because I can’t remember a time when I haven’t been in pain. For all the different types I’ve experienced, none are evident in my appearance or demeanor. This adds to the complexities of my life with chronic pain. Throughout…

I’m going to declare my opinion that LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” is the best song of the 2000s. The song, which is only two notes and about seven and a half minutes long, pulls me in and doesn’t let me go. It’s melancholic, nostalgic, and ready for…

At a recent appointment, a doctor told me something I’ve heard many times before: “You know what you should really consider? Genetic testing!” He was scanning my chart, reading some of the details aloud, such as my father’s diagnosis at age 50 with stage 4 colon cancer. Also in…

On the most recent episode of CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” President Joe Biden declared the pandemic over. I wish I could be writing with champagne in hand and firecrackers crackling at a party that, yes, an endless future of indoor gatherings is in sight. But that image of…

There is never an ideal way to encounter survivor’s guilt. It’ll be foisted upon you like a dumpster on your front porch. It’s unnecessary baggage that you didn’t know you’d have to carry, but now it’s here. I think it’s ultimately a selfish feeling, but sometimes we all have selfish…