100 Days Back Home.

I never thought I’d be so deeply dissatisfied after returning home.  I thought that transitioning from expat to repat would be difficult but overwhelmingly positive.  I was wrong. Mr. Meena and I were gone from the United States for 13 continuous months.  As we neared the end of our time in Germany I was rather desperate to be reacquainted with my family, certain luxuries from home, and my native language (not that I was ever successful at learning German beyond ordering coffee). Yet, […]

100+ Relatable Signs of Chronic Illness.

For the past year or so I have been writing down my relatable signs of chronic illness every time one would pop into my head.  The list steadily grew – to over 100 – until I finally felt ready to share it with the world.  Some are funny, some are sad, and some are a bit specific to lupus or autoimmune diseases.  Hopefully you’ll find at least a few to be relatable and feel a bit less alone on this chronic […]

Repatriation: Our First Week Back in the USA.

This week is going to be a whirlwind.  We left Germany last Saturday around noon in one time zone and arrived in the USA in the afternoon of another.  We made the long, slow trek though the airport customs line with our bird, Koopa, who passed his USDA inspection with flying colors.       Since we had to fly to an airport near Washington DC instead of the one closest to our home in Charlotte (because it was the only […]

2022 Yearly Digest

It took me a long time to write my 2022 digest and it wasn’t just because so much stuff happened over the last year. It was partially because my family has been taking turns having rough colds for weeks – months, really – and it’s hard to get anything done when we’ve all been so sick. But it’s also because I always go through my Instagram posts to see if I forgot anything and I just couldn’t stop staring at […]

My Baby Has Caffey Disease: Our Story and Rare Disease Awareness.

A doctor told me my baby likely had Caffey disease when he was only eight hours old. We had to wait on genetic testing to confirm it, but the rare disease was already causing my son severe pain. Somewhere around 3 in 1,000 infants are diagnosed with Caffey disease globally, although many are likely undiagnosed because the bone manifestations are minor and go unnoticed. But some babies can have bones that double to triple in width. The doctors told me […]

My 5 Year Lupus Diagnosis Anniversary.

Today marks five years since a doctor confirmed my lupus diagnosis. In early January of 2017, he told me he suspected lupus and when I returned three weeks later the blood work confirmed it. Technically, he called it “pre-lupus”, but I later developed more symptoms and he dropped the “pre” part of the diagnosis. So, happy diagnosiversary to me! Every January I am acutely aware that another year had passed, and this five year marker is hitting a little differently. […]

2021 Yearly Digest

Having kicked off the new year with a fresh health crisis (is there any other way to do it?), here I am with my better-late-than-never 2021 digest. Looking back over the past year can be bittersweet when you live with chronic illnesses. This year was even tougher as I struggled emotionally and physically with what my children went through medically. However, it helps me remember what I’ve overcome so far as I face a new year. I spent much of […]

My Third Trimester: Hobbling Along and Delivering Early.

My third trimester started off a bit stressful. At 28 weeks, I failed my one-hour gestational diabetes test. I was stressed about possibly having yet another health complication during pregnancy. I then had to endure a three-hour-long glucose test which I passed, thank goodness! But the stress of my third trimester was only getting started; I have a lot to share with you about what happened over those nine weeks! Yep, if you’re counting along that means my son was […]

My Second Trimester: I’m Not Having a Good Time!

My second trimester was hard at the beginning and the end, but I had a few sweet days somewhere in the middle.  There weren’t nearly as many good days compared to the honeymoon phase of my first pregnancy.  Like many other moms, I’ve found my second pregnancy to be harder overall. Related: The First Trimester With My Second Baby. It’s been tougher because of more severe and frequent pregnancy symptoms on top of taking care of a toddler while pregnant.  […]

Please Stop Telling Me to Take an Antidepressant for My Autoimmune Disease.

How many doctors have told you to take an antidepressant for your chronic pain?  My number is around seven, and most of them stated it was my only option for pain management.  This was generally done in a matter-of-fact manner, not a compassionate, I-care-about-what-is-wrong-with-you approach.  But what if my pain is caused by something that needs to be treated another way?  Shouldn’t we look further into this?  My health is not something to be dismissed or treated with a one […]