Columns

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…

In my last column, I described how nearly dying made me a better person. That might imply that I flipped a brain switch to become a more rad version of Brad overnight, but that’s not how it happened. During my lung transplant journey, I strived to better my character,…

As restrictions from COVID-19 lift ’round these parts, my urge to get back to business as usual has intensified. I’m lucky to live in a state that’s been less affected, so I dared to ask my favorite doctor the burning question: “Is it safe to grocery shop again?” I…

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…

A lot is happening in the world right now. We are in the midst of a pandemic and a civic revolution. I believe it is important to use my voice to start a conversation about diversity, specifically in our small community. It might be a bumpy conversation, but it needs…

COVID-19 has uprooted my life in many ways. Some are obvious, some are not. Like many people with disabilities, I have been in isolation since the outbreak began. Shortly after, an interesting topic came up among service dog handlers: Is it safe to use service dogs during this…

Confusion over how we “should” react to suffering wreaks havoc in the mind, often triggering a shame response. We so often utter the words, “I’m fine,” though that performative response is far from the truth. Inside, we cry out for help. The cultural norm’s expectation is to function without our…

My body doesn’t work. This isn’t new information. But every time I get new information about a new way it doesn’t work, I feel a surge of emotion. “I think I’m sort of depressed today,” I told my partner, after a long morning of telehealth and treatments. “I just…

His little ribs rose, then fell, then rose, then fell, then stayed still. The spark left his green, curious eyes — I swear it wasn’t a trick of the light. They were dull … dead. I loathed myself for letting my first cat be put to sleep without me by…

It’s Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, and I’m not aware of what that means anymore. I remember the first time I told someone I was being examined for cystic fibrosis. “You don’t look like you have CF,” she said. “They have a certain look.” She was a nurse who’d been through med…