Columns

My husband, Jason, and my three sons with Duchenne muscular dystrophy — Max, Rowen, and Charlie — just pulled out of the driveway. They are headed to Denver for neuromuscular appointments that start this week. A couple of weeks ago, I shared in a column that I wouldn’t…

Learning when to say yes and when to say no has been especially important for me as I live with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). It’s a balance between trying to rise up in my career by accepting story assignments, and saying no to events, friends, and more assignments so that…

I didn’t think we would ever have more children after I found out 10 years ago that I was a carrier of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. But here I am in the homestretch again, in the last trimester of pregnancy. The weeks have been flying by, but my pregnancy…

Welcome back to my column, “Hidden Truths.” While I tend to write that at the beginning of most of my columns, I genuinely appreciate you checking in. You consciously decided to click on the column and made it a part of your day. You could have chosen thousands…

The title of this column comes from a meme I saw this week. Its message found me at a time when I needed to hear it. My three sons with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have appointments at Children’s Hospital Colorado the first week of December. (Yes, we must take three…

We form our identity from the world around us. That includes factors like our relationships with parents, siblings, and friends, what we look like, our sexual orientation, and our religious beliefs, among others. For me, one unspoken taboo is my disability. I use a wheelchair because I can barely walk,…

Halloween is over, and I’m happy to say we all got through it. While it was one of my favorite holidays when I was a kid, celebrating it with children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy has made trick-or-treating challenging in ways I never dreamed of. This week, I’ll be writing…

Welcome back to “Hidden Truths,” a column that seeks to offer an honest look at living with a neuromuscular disease. I not only like to present my own experiences, but also to challenge others to examine themselves and think outside the box. I believe that by questioning and searching for…

I have shared many times in this column that I have three sons with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. People sometimes think I’m an expert on the subject. But the truth is that my boys are unique, and Duchenne has affected each of them differently. Their disease progression and weakening muscles…

Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action on an object there is an equal and opposite reaction. In 1686, his law was groundbreaking, but in 2021, we take its simplicity for granted. There is a consequence for every action taken. When a bullet discharges…