Q: I am often ill and overexertion makes me worse. When I’m having a bad time, the house gets squalid. Then when I feel better I CAN’T marathon, but slow and steady is slow. Are things like floor wipes and bathroom cleaning wipes really, really awful? A: It’s really easy for someone to say, “Yes, […]
When I was ten years old, I decided I would no longer eat pork. Partly brought on by the appreciation for the animal itself, I realized that I’d never much liked pork to begin with. Rather than say to people something like, “Well, I hate pork chops, but sometimes I end up eating sausage when […]
Having lived with chronic fatigue syndrome for six years, and fibromyalgia for at least four years, I wish I could tell you that I’ve made peace with my illnesses. Though I’ve made progress in how I manage my symptoms, I still struggle with knowing that This will never go away.
Q: I have a chronic illness that leaves me unable to stand for long periods of time (and sometimes even short ones). I get tired very easily, and too much physical exertion can result in an attack that lasts for days and requires me to take some really awful medications. I want a clean house, […]
This week, this beginning of Pride month, these past few days… I wish I could say I am heartened by the ongoing discussion of human rights and LGBTQ issues, but I’m tired. I’m tired and I’m disheartened, and there is so much more work to be done. Let’s just get to the news and end […]
Q: Hi! When a person’s entire home is trashed, cluttered, disorganized, and dirty (two floors, three bedrooms, two and a half baths, for example) and they live alone with chronic illness and most likely won’t receive any assistance in cleaning, where/which room, in your expert opinion, is the most important place for them to start? […]
Q: I am often ill and overexertion makes me worse. When I’m having a bad time, the house gets squalid. Then when I feel better I CAN’T marathon, but slow and steady is slow. Are things like floor wipes and bathroom cleaning wipes really, really awful? A: It’s really easy for someone to say, “Yes, […]
Q: I have a chronic illness that leaves me unable to stand for long periods of time (and sometimes even short ones). I get tired very easily, and too much physical exertion can result in an attack that lasts for days and requires me to take some really awful medications. I want a clean house, […]
We sometimes find our solace in the strangest places. I’ve come to expect that, but I can honestly say I never expected to find solace and acceptance from an Internet meme.
Last August, after years of doctors’ appointments and too many tests that came back as inconclusive, I was diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease, which until a few months prior, I had never even heard of. All I could do was talk about it. It was a way for me to work through what I was […]
During a trip to Disney World in April 2009, I suffered a massive cold. Almost all of us did – my husband, my daughter (then five years old), my mom and myself. Only my 18-month-old son escaped with just a runny nose, but then he had his own porta-crib away from the rest of our […]
A few months ago, while he was underwhelming the rest of the world, Tom Hanks’ most recent character, fiftysomething college student/Julia Roberts-seducer Larry Crowne, sent me into a downward spiral. Maybe not a full-blown nervous breakdown, but certainly an unbecoming, hyperventilating, snot-and-tears meltdown. (To quote Ethan Hawke in one of my favourite films, “Do you […]