Blog Archive

  • CHD Awareness?

    Awareness matters, but so does how it is framed. Some imagery meant to support parents can unintentionally teach children with congenital heart disease that they are a burden.

  • Not An If…

    On the drive home from my most recent doctor appointment, I didn’t feel dramatic or panicked. I felt quiet. The kind of quiet that settles in when something has shifted but hasn’t fully announced itself yet. I drove, followed familiar roads, and let the conversation replay in my head. This time, when he said the…

  • Listen to Your Body

    For as long as I can remember, people have told me to listen to my body. It was practically the soundtrack of my childhood. I heard it from nurses, from my mother, and most recently from my cardiologist, who said it with the same energy as someone offering ancient, mystical wisdom. Going to a high…

  • Tightrope. (You don’t look sick…)

    Every day, I walk an invisible tightrope. Step by step, I inch forward, steadying myself, fully aware of the drop below. Chin up. Smile. Do not let the audience see the tremor in my hands or the heaviness in my bones. They expect composure, strength, even grace in this precarious balancing act. So I play…

  • OCD. My Heart. And Me.

    My heart races for two reasons: one, because it can’t always keep rhythm (damn tachycardia), and two, because my mind insists it’s about to stop. I’m open about my heart condition and my mental health, but I rarely talk about how the two gang up on me. Today in therapy, I spent the usual 15–20…

  • Ode to a Cat 

    It’s been over a year since I said goodbye to my best friend. In the moment, and the days following I wasn’t ready to talk about what he meant to me, and how deeply losing him hurt. I am ready now.  When I picked Gus, or rather he picked me, my intention was to help…

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