Living with AFib: Surviving Arrhythmia, Pharmacy Apps, and Cardioversion
“When the Heart Throws a Party,” “Call the Electrician,” Momma said there’d be days like this, that’s what Momma said. Now we’re off to the races. Once a song enters my head, something is usually kicking around behind it. Looks like today we’re back to…
The Power of Slowing Down: Heart Health, Coffee, and Realizing What Truly Matters
“Tumble out of bed, stumble to the kitchen, pour yourself a cup of ambition…” And there it is. Pour yourself a cup of ambition. Caffeine. That is what has been missing. For years I lived on adrenaline, fast-paced noise, and yes, plenty of caffeine. Now…
Remission Is Not Intermission: Finding Peace After the Cancer Scans Stop
It is coming up on three years since this health journey arrived and moved into my life without asking permission. Since then, I have made changes. I have tried to remain consistent. I have eaten differently, moved more, taken the pills, worn the mask,…
“You Are Missing the Big Picture”: What Surviving Cancer and Cardiac Arrest Taught Me About the End Times
Every day, I take time to sit before my computer and write. It is becoming a habit, putting words down to help wake up my mind. Sometimes it is morning, and sometimes it is late afternoon. I work the night shift three nights a week, so the hours of the…
The Financial Toll of Cancer: What Nobody Tells You About Medical Debt, Fear, and Serious Illness
There is a part of the cancer journey that people do not talk about very much. It does not even have to be cancer. Any serious health crisis will do. There are the bills. In the beginning, there is fear and chaos. You wonder what will happen. You wonder…
Life in the Cardiac Cath Lab: A Healthcare Worker’s Journey to Cardiac Survival
Forged In The Flames of Oz Here it is Monday, 5:25 in the morning, and I work night shift tonight. There was a time when night shift felt almost sacred to me. The hospital halls would settle down, the noise would thin out, and the place would take on a…
Living in the Shadow of Cancer: An Honest Look at Survival and Loss
“This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks…” Wait. Are we sure this is how all great pieces of writing are supposed to begin? Over the past few months, I have tried my hand at prose. Well, writing. Let’s not get carried away and…
I Took a Pandemic DNA Test. It Exposed a 57-Year-Old Family Lie
The pandemic was a political time bomb, an emotional nightmare, and a body count all at once. Those of us in healthcare were standing on the front line of something we did not fully understand yet. It was loud. It was severe. It came with arguments,…
The Package Is Not Always The Problem
Somewhere along the way, food got loud. One crowd says everything in a package is poison. Another crowd says it does not matter as long as the label has the right numbers. Then somebody else walks in wearing a lab coat made out of opinions and starts…
Just Another Day
If it can be messed up, I will manage to do it. I do not say that as a complaint. At this point in life, it is almost a skill set. Some people have hobbies, whereas I have field experience in things going sideways. This morning started early. Not noble…