At 8pm last night, the tears came. Of course they would come. Phillip was there. He sat close. Stayed quiet. He let me cry. I wiped my tears with my wrinkled dinner napkin and stared off into space. I choked out how weird it is to feel relatively healthy and…
Health Update and Coping with Not Great News
Phillip and I were back for my 3 month checkup yesterday. I completed blood work on Tuesday and felt calm about where I was at. I’ve had some fatigue, but nothing dramatic. Life was moving along as life does so I assumed my kidney was following suit. During my January…
Feeling Lost?
As people, we are a searching breed. We search through business accomplishments, spirituality, relationships, food, material possessions and any variety of ways you can imagine. We yearn for connection, security and purpose. We want to feel hopeful, inspired and passionate. Sometimes we are wildly successful. We bask in gratitude and…
The Tightrope of Chronic Illness
In the most recent newsletter I talked about wanting to trade bodies with someone…just for one day. This way they could tell you just how freaked you should be about the symptoms you’re experiencing. When you cope with chronic illness, especially one that is progressive, symptoms randomly visit from time-to-time.…
7 Cool Things Your Kidneys Do
While my body presents lots of challenges, it also has me in complete awe. The moment something doesn’t work correctly, you become aware of just how amazing its function was…all without having to consciously think about anything. Day-in-and-day-out our bodies work tirelessly to do millions of huge and tiny things…
Simple System for Staying Organized
I’m not exactly sure when this habit started, but I know that it was initially tied to my corporate career. In order to keep what needed to get done organized, I created a very, very simple system that has worked for years. With chronic illness, sometimes thinking, memory and focus…
Turning Off the TV
According to Nielsen report, the average American watches between 37 and 40 hours of live and DVR TV each week. I’ve decided to do something about that, again, in my household. I say “again” because I have a love/guilt relationship with the TV. Since I was sick a lot growing…
Stress: What it Actually Means to Let Go
The term “let go” has been tossed around in self-help circles a lot. Usually as in, “just let it go.” This vague term is used as a prescription for decreasing stress. Because it is fuzzy, it is can also be a frustrating statement. Prompting the response, “if I could just…
The False Hope of the Placebo Effect
Something I have been contemplating for a while finally became crystal clear last night. I could not wait to share. The placebo effect is fascinating. In clinical trials, participants are typically divided into two groups. One group is given active treatment, and another group is given treatment that looks like…