Columns

A funny female pediatrician named Dr. C diagnosed me at age 5. After years of Mom begging doctors to pay closer attention to my symptoms, she stumbled upon Dr. C’s existence when my regular pediatrician wasn’t available. After listening to my mother for a mere 20 minutes, Dr.

I didn’t write my column last week. It’s the first time I’ve missed a column in months. If I have a surgery or a conflict, I write ahead of time, because one of the best (and most challenging) things about working for a company run by sick people is…

“Everybody’s gross.” It’s a motto that I live by, as well as the opening number of my original musical comedy about a girl with cystic fibrosis, “Fall Risk.” Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have an unfortunate amount of mucus that overwhelms our entire bodies. This leads to excessive…

Note: This column was updated Aug. 2, 2022, to reflect the column’s new name, “Lung, Scrappy, and Hungry.”  I was busy in June 2019. I had been evaluated for a double-lung transplant earlier that March at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) after a drastic decline in…

I wish someone actually talked about marriage. And not just marriage to a sick person, though I am one. And not just how to fix a marriage. I don’t want someone to offer advice on what I’m doing wrong (plenty). I just want someone to talk about it honestly. I’ve…

“Wow, look at the COVID-19 stats in the U.S.! Our numbers are awesome! With so many people getting vaccinated, we can finally start going back to normal.” — Seemingly everyone but me It feels like I’m the only person in my part of the world that still has to…

Here’s what you need to know about disabled people. First, don’t call them “disabled people” unless they want to be called disabled people. Or people with disabilities. Or neither. I don’t call myself a disabled person, personally. It’s not because I don’t support the community or consider myself an…

My message is simple: It is a systemic injustice, even ableist, to heap unbearable financial burdens on people with disabilities (PwD). Before I continue: This column doesn’t critique political parties or provide solutions; it raises red flags so others are mobilized to finding solutions. This column focuses on issues…

“My second nephew was just born,” my boss texted me the other day. “If you have any parenting advice, I’ll pass it along.” I sat down to write him a couple of sentences regarding his brother’s first baby. Instead, I wrote this column. I became a mother unexpectedly as a…

My whole life changed after I had a double-lung transplant three years ago. When drastic life changes occur, they can shake us to the core. We can struggle to understand the implications of what we are going through until we’re already facing the aftermath. That’s what happened to me when…