Exploring the Jungle —Mary Lott

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Mary Lott fills her column with stories about living with cold agglutinin disorder (CAD). All facets of her life are affected, whether at her home overseas in Papua, Indonesia, or her stateside home in Auburn, Alabama. She was overseas in 2018 when she experienced a crisis, prompting an immediate evacuation stateside, where she was diagnosed with CAD and chronic lymphocytic lymphoma. At present, Mary pursues her love of SCUBA diving, although the anemia CAD presents makes it and other strenuous activities challenging. “Exploring the Jungle” will connect with readers to demonstrate how CAD doesn’t have to make life boring.

I am ready to cluck about CAD, ‘The sky is falling! The sky is falling!’

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with rituximab. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. The first house I remember living in was rather small — small enough that Dad could sit in the hallway and read…

Mary Lott

Grounding myself helps me in recovering from a panic attack

My breath was short and quick. Pokey, my dog, jumped up on the bed and licked my face. It didn’t help. Thoughts continued to swirl through my brain, not settling down into one focus. I was developing a panic attack. Focusing my gaze on one spot on the far wall,…

Contingency plans are essential for both CAD and the tropics

My husband and I went through our checklist. “Do you have a week’s supply of your inhaler?” We try to keep supplies on hand, just in case. We have contingency plans for disasters, such as an earthquake. We’re ready to shelter in place or “bug out,” depending on the circumstances.

A day in the life of a cold agglutinin disease patient

Pokey was nudging my hand, forcing me into consciousness. He was rolling his eyes, dancing around, and almost crossing his legs. “Get up, Mom! I have to go out.” Pokey is my dog. I wish he understood that on Saturdays humans don’t have to get up as early as on…

Diagnosing CAD is like finding a Komodo dragon in your backyard

“You’ve reached 911. What’s your emergency?” My daughter Beth answered the call, ready to direct the correct emergency department to the scene. Nothing in that job is routine, but she didn’t expect the situation that unfolded. “Please send animal control to my house. There is a Komodo dragon in…

Handling depression is part of this CAD patient’s life

Give ear, me hearties, and listen to my tale. It’s a story of riding the high waves and plunging into the troughs between. Me tale begins many a night ago as the kraken rose up to assail me ship o’ life. Ye find me many a day befuddled…

I treat cold agglutinin disease as an opportunity to learn

I looked about in wonder. The prairie — the vast, great American prairie, which reputedly had vistas so wide that the horizon was far off in the distance — filled my vision. But the vistas I saw were not wide, and the horizon was not far off. This place had…

How living with cold agglutinin disease has changed my life

Usually, I can pinpoint a cause for the challenges I face. I know exactly when, why, and how I broke my nose and ended up looking like a raccoon for more than two weeks. I wish I’d asked a responsible person to monitor the pool when I attempted a back…

Why is asking questions important for CAD patients?

Way back in 1974, my now husband, Mike, asked me a question as we waited for the beginning of our next class at Auburn University in Alabama. He started off by telling me of his plans for the upcoming weekend. We were both music majors, and after about five minutes…

Explaining the conundrums caused by cold agglutinin disease

“Mom, how did you know that?” My youngest child was astonished that I knew of a particular naughtiness they had done. My two older children groaned. They knew my stock answer was coming. They had gone through this phase earlier and had ceased asking me that type of question. “Easy,”…


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