by Dr Aletta | Mar 27, 2013 | Chronic Illness, Family Matters
A few weeks ago I ran into a friend at the barn where I keep Annie, my mare. We hadn’t seen each other in a while so we caught up. I told her about my slow, but good, recovery from illness and she told me about caring for her ninety-three year old mother who...
by Dr Aletta | Feb 10, 2013 | Chronic Illness, Life Matters
Here’s the thing about chronic illness… It’s CHRONIC! That means it doesn’t have the courtesy to go away, even for a minute. Many of us are dealing with the winter storm that hit the Deep North yesterday. As much as it laid us low we know there...
by Dr Aletta | Dec 2, 2012 | Anxiety, Chronic Illness
My friend and fellow blogger Carolyn Thomas, whose wonderful website Heart Sisters, all about women with heart disease, has won awards for being among the top ten online influencers. Carolyn, a heart attack survivor who lives with heart disease, left this great...
by Dr Aletta | Dec 1, 2012 | Chronic Illness
If you haven’t read it yet you might consider downloading Andy Borowitz’s ebook “An Unexpected Twist.” A short synopsis: “A mysterious medical ailment leads to a terrifying–and darkly hilarious–brush with death.” Having lived...
by Dr Aletta | Jun 21, 2012 | Chronic Illness, Mental Health
Ever since the relapse of my kidney disease I’ve struggled with depression, with the close to twenty pounds I’ve gained because of the medication I have to take and fatigue. This relapse brings back the memory of all recurrences of the disease from the...
by Dr Aletta | Jun 13, 2012 | Chronic Illness, Self-Esteem
“I think this is one of the most toxic New Age ideas: that all patients should keep a positive attitude. What a crazy, crazy idea that is! It is much healthier, much more healing, to allow yourself to feel whatever it is that comes up in you, and to allow yourself to...
