Columns

Serious side effects that can cause or prolong hospital stays occurred frequently among children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who are receiving treatment with the gene therapy Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi), a new study of real-world safety data highlights. Specifically, according to the researchers, more than half of…

When I was a little girl, I loved searching for dandelions at the first sign of spring. My mother would pick one off the ground for me, and I’d excitedly use all my strength and breath to remove the fluffy seed ball, or blowball, from the stem. One by…

Maybe you’ve noticed from my past columns that my family enjoys traveling. We’ve been blessed to visit a variety of destinations together, but we’re repeatedly drawn to locations with scenic coastlines and warm climates. My mom books all of our family trips. With a lifetime…

Memories wield immense power in the recesses of the mind. They can evoke varying emotions, from exhilaration and delight to sorrow and profound grief. Countless memories regularly swirl through my consciousness. Yet, as I pondered ideas for this column, one memory persisted: my recent graduation from Harrisburg Area…

A few weeks ago, my co-workers and I had a candid discussion about the things that tick us off. I work with a large team of patient and caregiver columnists from this site’s parent company, and we share many similar experiences and mindsets. Our monthly community calls over…

I’m listening to my caregiver’s daughter talk about life as a first grader when I realize … I’m old. I don’t know when it happened. One minute, I was graduating high school, and the next I was turning 30. The thought is terrifying. Where did all that time…

There’s a memory that has sat quietly in the back of my mind for a while. After it happened, I wanted to write about the rawness and reality of how I felt in the moment. Yet, a gut feeling told me otherwise. The story wasn’t finished yet. There was…

I’ve written a lot about the support I’ve received from nurses and others. Although I always recognize the people in my life one way or another, I have yet to celebrate plenty of people, both medical professionals and nonmedical ones, through my columns. Everybody I know has gotten…

Respiratory ailments never bothered my husband, Randy, or me in Fort Worth, Texas, where we grew up. Columbia, South Carolina, our destination in 1985, was wretchedly muggy but didn’t prompt any allergy issues, either. In the early 1990s, we moved to Lenoir, North Carolina, where furniture factories thrived. That…

Peeking up from my pillow and seeing that it was 4:55 a.m. was an unpleasant surprise the other day. I had slept only a whopping 20 minutes longer than the night before, and it was becoming a pattern. Having fallen asleep around midnight, my body was riddled with exhaustion,…