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Click! It’s time for a routine checkup. I wait a few minutes for the webpage to load, then add the parameters of my proposed travel. Anxiously, I scan the list of available flights and begin my research. I have certain criteria for the booking; paramount is the cost of the…

“Band! A-tennnnn-hut!” I watched for the lift of the drum major’s shoulders because the roar of the crowd — in what’s now called Jordan-Hare Stadium, at Auburn University in Alabama — was too loud for anyone in the clarinet section to hear him count off. I double-time…

Note: This column describes the author’s own thoughts about Enjaymo (sutimlimab-jome) and experiences with Rituxan (rituximab). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Yay! Happy days to come! Such was the reaction of many in the…

It was with great relief that I read the report. My quest for a diagnosis, which turned out to be cold agglutinin disease (CAD), was almost at an end. In September 2016, I was determined to push through the confusion and find someone who could figure…

I slather zinc oxide ointment all over my nose, plop on my hat, and jump in the pool. I have been given instructions to rest and get better. My friend said, “Come over whenever you want,” and I intend to take full advantage of that offer. My goals for the…

It didn’t surprise anyone that on Dec. 11, 2019, I was attending another school band concert, given that my husband, Mike, is the band director. But this particular concert was memorable not because of the music, but for the familiar burning tickle in the back of my throat. It presaged…

I clasped the wad of papers in my hand and made my way to the sign that read “Admitting.” I slumped into the chair and mumbled answers to the person on the other side of the desk. Most people say they don’t like hospital stays, but I don’t mind them.

I opened the front door and, clippers in hand, skipped out to see the full blossom of my yellow rose. I purchased the plant back in the middle of February. It had one nursery-forced bloom, which faded away after a week. Now would begin the real test of growth. Could…

By outward appearances, I look just fine in an oldish, grandmotherly sort of way. Yet underneath it all lies a stealthy hidden monster known as cold agglutinin disease (CAD). Most of the time, people can’t tell I have it. A now-distant friend once asked me, “Were you always a…

I swung my leather computer backpack on and hoisted my tote bag onto my shoulder. It was my first time receiving the immunotherapy Rituxan (rituximab). I was quite apprehensive. Over and over again, I repeated the mantra my doctor’s nurse had given me: “It’s not chemotherapy. It’s…