Columns

Kevin Schaefer, the associate director of community content at Bionews, the parent company of this website, recently shared a thought-provoking article from Psychology Today titled “How Chronic Illness and Masculinity Intersect.” It has me thinking about what kind of man I am and want to be. The…

I’m officially a mother-in-law! That’s a new title for me. I’m a mom to the seven children I share with my husband, Jason. I’m also a special needs mom and warrior mama to my three sons living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). And now I’m also a mother-in-law…

Starting last week, I’ve been trying to get my life back on track after enduring a few difficult months. As I recently shared, life has been challenging since I left my job in April. Then, in May, I faced an unexpected hospitalization, and June brought relationship tension. In July,…

Muscular dystrophy entered my life in the fall of 1984. I was 11 years old and beginning my sixth year of school. Along with neighborhood friends, I would walk to and from my elementary school every day. That September, I remember feeling very tired on the short walk down…

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) touches every part of my family’s life. Jason, my husband of 23 years, and I have seven children. Three of them — Max, 18, Rowen, 15, and Charlie, 13 — live with DMD. We’re now in the middle of what could be one of…

Wrestling videos were the soundtrack to my morning earlier this week. I was staring at a beige wall void of anything except a small white clock marking the time and the black screen of a television no one uses. Sitting in the infusion center at our local hospital, I thought…

A few years ago, my wife, Wendy, and I took a mini-vacation to Philadelphia with my brother Ron, his wife, Judy, my brother Tim, and his wife, Diane. Ron, Tim, and I had visited relatives there on a regular basis growing up, so we cruised around the old neighborhoods where…

This week, one of my boys had to get an MRI. Three of my four sons — Max, 18, Rowen, 15, and Charlie, 13 — are living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and they’ve had annual MRIs for the past 14 years (well, fewer for Charlie). Sometimes…

Nearly two years ago, I authored a column for this website about my reflections on the semi-autobiographical rock musical “tick, tick … BOOM!” from American composer, lyricist, and playwright Jonathan Larson (best known for “Rent”). I’d just watched the 2021 film adaptation, directed by Larson’s…

I often read social media posts from moms asking for safe and fun ideas for their children to enjoy during summer break. When my boys were younger, I worried about that as well. I wanted my three sons with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) — Max, 18, Rowen, 15, and…