My lips trembled as I stared into the deep end of the indoor swimming pool. It was inches from my face; I could smell the…
Diabetes Resources The Diabetic Youth Foundation offers year-round programs and summer camps for kids: www.dyf.org Participation in studies is a great way to receive support…
A month after my near-fatal, one-car accident in early 1990, I first began to understand what had landed me in a large trauma hospital. I…
“Mom, my shoulder hurts again,” Danny, our ten-year-old son, announced. Our packed suitcases waited by the door. Crossing things off my “to do” list, I…
“Have you ever heard of multiple myeloma?” My doctor sat across from me in the examining room, relaxed and smiling. She could have been telling…
The strength and stamina I used to have are diminishing. This may be a result of simply passing the age of 50 or of the…
Never have I considered myself a gullible person. When I held a top executive position in business, I readily recognized the difference between ethical and…
“Right, two, three, four; left, two, three, four,” the step aerobics instructor counted. “Keep those hands moving in unison with your feet.” The feeling of…
“Take Caleb to a nutritionist. I don’t like that recurring rash on his face.” Alarm flickered in my heart. My ex-husband is a registered nurse,…
Two years ago, I wouldn’t have thought I could learn anything significant about prayer. I had been a Christian for many years. What more could…
“What do I think about a cure?” I repeated into the receiver. I powered my wheelchair closer. “Cure of what?” My speaker phone rattled a…
I awoke from a deep coma to the gray, filtered light of a strange room. Tubes and machines surrounded my body. I was semi-paralyzed on…
I pulled off the freeway when my buzzing phone showed the medical clinic’s ID. Probably last-minute information about Thursday’s surgery. “Your recent mammogram shows suspicious…
Mark O’Brien depends on an iron lung for breathing, which he has done for 42 years. Yet while restricted to his apartment most of the…
Footnotes Roberts, Alison, The Sacramento Bee “Breathing Lessons,” March 14, 1997 Boller, Paul F., Jr. Presidential Anecdotes, (Penguin Books: Kingsport, Tennessee, 1981), p. 266 “Thomas…
I was sitting in my doctor’s office waiting for results from routine blood work. My primary care doctor came into the room, sat down at…
The images on the television screen sprang to life, jerking me back to another place and time. Fourteen years fell away as I saw myself…
“We will find out what is wrong with you,” the doctor said with confidence, “but you won’t like it.” His words replayed in my mind…
Born in Leeds, England, with the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, I had, to put it mildly, a less-than-ideal start to life. In those…
I’m glad I found out in the summer. I wore sunglasses a lot and could cry without being noticed. I would go on my daily…
June 2, 2009. Two packed suitcases and two carry-ons waited near the door. I’d checked our tickets at least a dozen times and wanted to…
“Lord Jesus, save me!” I screamed as I plunged forty feet off the cliff toward the rocky ground below. Friends and youth leaders looked on…
Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down And broke his crown And Jill came tumbling after….
I had the same aspirations many women share of getting married to the perfect man and living happily ever after. On Valentine’s Day evening, 1997,…
A pivotal event is one that defines everything before and after it. A chance meeting, a phone call, a quick decision can be a turning…
A slight chill hung in the April air as my cousin, Cindy, and I settled into the back seat of the Dodge Neon and positioned…
Michael Dorris wanted to be a father, but he lacked a partner. Did this stop him? No; Dorris decided to adopt. His decision came at…
Read more about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects Dorris, Michael. “The Gift Abel Gave Us.” Parents, Vol. 67, pp. 216-17. Eastman, N. J….
Early one February morning I awoke with a slight dizzy spell. In the pre-dawn darkness, I steadied myself against the wall and made my way…
What threw me most about my cancer diagnosis was the timing. I know — there are many reasons to go into a tailspin when you’re…
“I’m afraid there is no cure. We can only treat the symptoms,” Dr. Price explained, almost apologetically. Speechless, I lingered over her words, struggling to…
Born with a severe disability called Arthrogryposis, Multiplex Congenita, I have less than 3 percent use of my left arm and less than 7 percent…
Biopsy? No, I could not have heard that word. Surely I had misunderstood. The doctor directed my attention to the screen before me and traced…
Resources Though these resources are in Idaho, plenty of similar organizations are throughout the nation. Be sure to search your particular state’s Parks and Recreation…
I sit in another office with cool, “restful” colored paint, muted lighting, and nondescript art on the walls. A desk, bookshelf full of books, chairs…