Living with a rare disease means choosing to trust your doctors
When you have a rare disease like SMA, there comes a point when you have to consciously choose to trust your doctors. Luckily for me, I grew up with a robust medical team. I had…
Author Archives: Brianna Albers
I always forget I have medical trauma until I’m in the operating room
Another day, another trek to Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. This time, though, it’s for something I’ve never done before: a cortisone injection in my right hip. For all I’ve written about chronic pain over the…
Introducing my latest diagnosis: Arthritis of the right hip
You know you’re in trouble when your orthopedist uses words like “sclerosis.” After several excruciating months of pain, I was exactly where I needed to be: Gillette Lifetime Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul,…
For my 31st birthday, I’m finally moving out of my childhood home
Every March, I connect with a county worker to reassess my waiver, which is a federally financed Medicaid budget covering home- and community-based programs. The questions are always the same: How has my health been…
After 30 years with SMA, I’m finally starting to do body stretches
Note: This column describes the author’s experiences with Cymbalta (duloxetine), Prozac (fluoxetine), and Celebrex (celecoxib). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. After months…
My recent overnight sleep study was uncomfortable, but necessary
When it comes to sleep studies, I mainly remember orange juice. Don’t ask me why. I was young then, around 8 or 9, so I have to assume the technicians were trying to bribe me or something. My…
The woes of adding a new ingredient to my medicine cocktail
Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Cymbalta (duloxetine). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Every morning, my caregivers present me with…
I have a newfound appreciation for my clinic at Gillette Children’s
On a perfectly mundane February afternoon, my mom and I drove to downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. It’s a new ritual now that I’ve transitioned most of my care to Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. Every six…
Ringing in the new year with public health insurance woes
I knew things would change when my mom retired. For one thing, there was going to be a whole third person hanging around our house; for most of my life, it was just my dad and…
Living through the waiting with SMA
Every December, I write an end-of-the-year column. I try to make it inspiring, or at the very least optimistic, but sometimes I can’t even accomplish that. Last year’s wrap-up was essentially a long-winded way of me saying, “See you never,…
Recent Posts
- Mental health symptoms common in SMA patients, their caregivers
- Using my time wisely helps me balance medical care, work, and fun
- MDA Engage: Keynote speaker Mindy Henderson redefines the impossible
- Potential treatment in the works for 3 siblings with ultra rare form of SMA
- SMA treatment was once a pipe dream. Now, we have 5 options.