Archive for July, 2007
Yikes! I can easily forget what it’s like to be in places where you can’t control the air conditioning. I spend my days in an office — but my office is in my home. I only have to negotiate with my husband and daughters (and our daughters don’t live here very often any more). For [...]
Oh, my but you DO look good.
Do you get annoyed when someone tells you how good you look (and you feel like “crap”?) According to one survey (and I’m always skeptic regarding surveys and who/how they’re done), 50% of people with chronic illness say they don’t like to be told they look good. I’ve never felt that way — even when [...]
The summer and humidity, in particular, is tough on us ileostomy folks. My flange (this thing that attaches to my skin) easily gets irritated. I went to a “wound nurse” (that’s what it’s called!) to see if there has been an improvement in the technology over the 10 years since I first got this and [...]
Forget the debates. The “bathing suit” contests. The pie dinners. I just wish that we could all get out the vote for her. No. I’m not talking about Hillary. I’m talking about Tara Tate, the newly crowned, Mrs. Indiana, who is going for the national crown of Mrs. America. Tara is OUR HEROINE — she’s [...]
This week, I had an epiphany. I don’t talk about living with an ileostomy. What made me realize this? My friend and colleague, Jenny Prokopy (Chronicbabe.com), is a freelance writer and was looking for people to interview for a piece that she’s working on for The Phoenix, the magazine of the United Ostomy Association of [...]
Hooray. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is releasing studies showing that chronic fatigue syndrome is a real disease and not just “yuppie flu”. They’re also sponsoring a $6m public awareness campaign about the illness. That’s a start in the right direction toward helping individuals with this disease feel less like they’re “psych cases” or [...]
Getting older all the time.
Summer …. and it finally feels like it in New England. This past weekend was my yearly reunion with childhood friends. We used to call it the White Plains High School Girls weekend – but since we include our spouses, the name doesn’t work anymore. 5 childhood friends (and two were high school sweethearts!) and [...]
Recently, I was in a conversation in which we were talking about how you find information — particularly on the internet.  I asked if she uses such search words as chronic illness or multiple sclerosis (which is what she has). She said, “I don’t like to think of myself as having a chronic illness and [...]
Power in numbers
There’s been good news about chronic fatigue syndrome lately. Scientists in Australia have identified 25 genes that are linked to CFS. In her blog, Laura talks about this news with the hopeful tone that we all get when we consider the possibility that someday there may be a cure (hey, even treatment options that are [...]
How Doctors Think
How do you make a book required reading for anyone who is a patient? (Oh, if only we could.) If you haven’t read How Doctors Think, by Dr. Jerome Groopman, go immediately to your local book store, library (or buy it online at his website.) I wish that I’d had this book when I was [...]
