Columns

For the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring my anger in therapy. The anger is because I can’t find an accessible and reasonable way to write, and it’s directed toward my body for holding me hostage. But behind that volatile emotion is fear. I know that sometimes bodies break and…

“The wheel is turning and you can’t slow down,/ You can’t let go and you can’t hold on,/ You can’t go back and you can’t stand still.” — “The Wheel” by the Grateful Dead  Sometimes I feel like living with hypoparathyroidism is like playing roulette, because I never know…

I recently participated in a clinical study for chronic pain and depression. For several weeks, I answered surveys about my mental health and my willingness to stay alive. The irony of living with post-surgical hypoparathyroidism is that every day I look for strategies to feel better and to stay…

“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much.” — Bessie Anderson Stanley I have lived more than half my life with hypoparathyroidism. My world forever changed after a total thyroidectomy for Graves’ disease in 1998 resulted in my life-changing hypopara diagnosis. Before…

Over the last 25 years, I’ve spent the majority of my days literally looking up at the sky or the ceiling. My perspective is different from most healthy people since I’ve been lying down somewhere, either on a couch, bed, zero-gravity chair, or one of my beloved hammocks, for decades.

The 2026 International Hypoparathyroidism Conference wrapped on Sept. 21. I attended virtually and spent three days hearing about current clinical trials, new standards of care, and the prototype for a home-use calcium tester by Tralyte Health. It was wonderful to have so much information at my fingertips, and…

“Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past/ You must fight just to keep them alive.” — “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor Not long ago, I was by the pool, staring at a blank screen and wondering what to write for my next column. I put on…

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear.” — Mark Twain Imagine waking up each morning not knowing how you will feel that day. Welcome to my life with hypoparathyroidism! Following my diagnosis, I was lucky to have a husband who took care…

“Your past does not decide your future.” — Anonymous proverb Last weekend was a fruitful one in terms of hope, resilience, learning, and love. I was grateful to attend an annual conference organized by the Hypoparathyroidism Association, where I had the opportunity to hear from expert doctors, researchers, and…

There are many different sayings about war that boil down to the colloquial phrase “The known enemy is always better.” I often hear it bandied about the chronic illness community, and it’s fitting because I feel like I’ve been at war with my body this year. Thankfully, I may have…