Like the stars, CAD is both constant and ever-changing

Tilting my head upward, I looked to the stars. There it was, the easiest constellation for me to identify: Orion. I identified it by the three stars in a row that make up his belt, and then looked down to his right side — my left — and saw the…

Surviving ‘Snowmageddon’ with cold agglutinin disease

“Those look like snow clouds,” I said to my dad on a recent Sunday afternoon. “Those definitely look like snow clouds,” he responded. I’d warned him the previous Friday that snow was predicted for the following Tuesday. I remember Dad asking if I thought it would actually snow this time,…

Symptoms of CAD caused me to resemble an alien being

“Oh, man! I think I really blew it.” My heart sunk to my toes as I looked at my thighs and forearms, where a maroon cobweb had appeared on my dusky blue skin. I quickly glanced at my stomach. The cobweb and dusky background were there as well. That was…

What it’s like living with an autoimmune disease like CAD

“Let’s see what the fam is doing today,” I mused to myself as I opened my Facebook feed. On Facebook, I’ve been able to reconnect with acquaintances from elementary school. My own family is scattered across the world, and I often don’t know where my son is working. Social media…

CAD patients find breathing a bother when enduring a cold

It is a truth universally acknowledged that people with cold agglutinin disease (CAD) can’t breathe. However little known the feelings or views of such a person, this truth is so well-fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that people with CAD, because they can’t breathe, will never walk…

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,”…

Trying to help is challenging for this CAD patient

It was a rather inauspicious start to a visit. I arrived after midnight one night and my daughter Gail didn’t allow the kids to wake me up the next morning. So, after gaining consciousness and orienting myself to my surroundings, I moved out of the basement bedroom and went upstairs…

COVID-19 worsens CAD symptoms in 71-year-old man: Case report

Infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, worsened symptoms of cold agglutinin disease (CAD) in a 71-year-old man in whom the autoimmune disease had been stable, a U.S. study reports. This case highlights the need for clinicians to be “mindful of potential preexisting … conditions, particularly [blood-related] diseases,…