Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
My goal in this post is not to complain or even to share some overly personal information. There have been a number of people who have reached out to me recently, people I know in person and others. I have no intention of sharing here what is going on. There is stress in our family, … Read More “Good News: Considering Self-Care” »
I have a disease called sarcoidosis. I don’t often think about it because most days it doesn’t affect me. It would be easy to forget I have it because it is controlled by medication. Under guidance from one of my specialists, I went off my medication for two weeks before and one week after each … Read More “Good News: Thankful For Medication” »
I have mentioned in some of my recent personal posts that I had a flare of sarcoidosis. This was because of a planned pause in my medication. The results were not what we hoped. I had a few pretty bad days but thankfully the medication is doing its job. I had to start taking prednisone … Read More “Good News: Feeling Better” »
My Good News actually comes out of some recent bad news. I have a disease called sarcoidosis. A few weeks ago I took a planned break from my medication. Unfortunately, this meant that my symptoms came back with a vengeance. That would be really bad news but I have an incredible supportive wife. On Sunday … Read More “Good News: Feeling the Love” »
A number of years ago, I released from the Canadian Armed Forces reserves in which I had served as a chaplain. I released not because I didn’t like it but because of my health. I was looking at a non-voluntary medical release before I made my decision. The problem was the effects of my sarcoidosis. … Read More “Good News: The Last Step” »
That is a strange title. But this is what I mean. I have a disease called sarcoidosis. I have been doing very well with it and have enjoyed the best health I have had in years. It has been so good that my doctor suggested I get off the low dose of prednisone that I … Read More “Good News: A Painful Reminder” »
Long-time readers of my personal blog will know that I have had some health struggles over the past couple of years. My main struggle is sarcoidosis. The main problems this has caused me include muscle and joint pain. In addition, the treatment for it has at times given me quite bad diabetes. Thankfully I have … Read More “Good News: Feeling the Best in a Long Time” »
The past six months or so have not been great for me health-wise. My sarcoidosis has been acting up and with that, my diabetes. I don’t say this to complain. My good news is that I have been feeling much better. I have started swimming with the kids again on our regular Sunday night swim. … Read More “Good News: Better Health” »
For the past number of months, I have been experiencing a sarcoidosis flare. This has been frustrating because my respirologist increased my dosage of prednisone to try and knock it into remission, but instead of relieving the symptoms, they actually got worse. In addition to not helping the sarcoidosis, the prednisone brought me back into … Read More “Good News: Feeling a Bit Better” »
I have been experiencing a flare in my sarcoidosis in recent months. A month or so ago my respirologist increased my prednisone to try and knock it back into remission. While the prednisone has brought back my diabetes, it has not improved my sarcoidosis symptoms. In fact, my sarcoidosis is actually worse now than it … Read More “Good News: Blessed With a Great Wife” »
I have no desire to be complainer when it comes to my health or any other issue. I’m generally a positive person and I’m thankful for all the blessings I enjoy. Having said that, I have a relatively rare disease called sarcoidosis. Many people have not heard of it or are vaguely familiar with it … Read More “Health Update” »
It was four years ago that my father-in-law came to our house and drove me to the hospital. I had been sick for some time and the walk-in clinic was not able to figure out what was wrong. The hospital was our last hope of finding out what was going on. At the time I … Read More “Good News: Four Years Later” »
The experience of people with sarcoidosis varies considerably. Many people diagnosed with sarcoidosis go into remission relatively quickly after treatment and never suffer another symptom. Other people are not helped by the treatment and the symptoms become so debilitating that they experience long-term disability. I’m somewhere in the middle. I have responded to treatment but … Read More “What Does a Sarcoidosis Flare-up Look Like?” »
The purpose of my Good News post is to pick one good thing that has happened as a way for me to keep positive. While there is often one thing that stands out, this time I’m looking at the big picture. I have been blessed in some amazing ways. Here are some: Amanda and I … Read More “Good News: Seeing the Big Picture” »
I have a disease that is called sarcoidosis. A lot of people have never heard of sarcoidosis. In order to increase awareness, I would like to share six things that you should know about sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that can attack many different parts of the body. Even though many online articles will … Read More “6 Things You Should Know About Sarcoidosis” »
In my last health update, I reported that I had developed diabetes after having begun a prednisone treatment for my sarcoidosis. It has been a while since then, so I thought I would give a new update. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that I am almost finished weaning myself … Read More “Health Update” »
The last number of years have not been great with my health. My mid-forties hit me pretty hard. It all began with the sudden appearance of sarcoidosis, although I did not get that diagnosis until after I had been very sick for a number of months. For many people with sarcoidosis, the symptoms never appear … Read More “Health Update” »
I was told that my health would go down hill once I hit my 40s. I didn’t believe them. Why should there be something dramatic about this decade? Now I believe. About three years ago, I was diagnosed with a disease called sarcoidosis. For many people, there are either no symptoms of sarcoidosis or it … Read More “Good News: Thankful for the Health I Have” »
I don’t usually use my blog to report my day’s events but yesterday was something different. I had a simple plan for the day. I was going to a pastor’s workshop in Etobicoke, then I was going to find a coffee shop to start working on my sermon and then I was going to my … Read More “Doctor’s Calls and Hospital Brawls” »
One of the major events in my life has been my diagnosis of sarcoidosis. This has affected me in numerous ways, not the least of which was having a number of months where I thought I was dying of an unknown disease. Sarcoidosis is a fairly rare disease and I often get asked about it. … Read More “What is Sarcoidosis?” »
For my good news post, I could speak about my love for my sons who just had birthdays. But I already did that here and here. Still, having these guys in my life is good news and a great blessing. Instead, I was drawn to just the change in our life over the past three … Read More “Good News: Feeling Blessed” »
As you may or may not know, two years ago I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. It has been a while since I have given an update. What is sarcoidosis? You are not alone in not knowing. Most of the people I talk to have not heard of it as it is a fairly rare disease. … Read More “Sarcoidosis Update” »
Two years ago, I began writing regular good news posts on my blog. They started as daily posts and eventually moved to weekly posts. The original context was that I was going through a dark time. Our son was needing to go into a group home (our second child to go into a group home) … Read More “Trying to Find Good News” »
As of yesterday, I began having another sarcoidosis flareup (or that is when I began to notice it). What does this look like? My appetite has been down, I am more tired than usual (and I’m usually pretty tired) and my joints began to hurt. In fact, last night I had to get my cane … Read More “Thankfulness Can Be a Pain” »
April is the month to be aware Today is April 1 and for many people that just means April Fool’s Day. For me it is the beginning of April, which is an awareness month for two causes that are important to me. Autism Awareness Month April is autism awareness month with April 2 as autism … Read More “Two Reasons Why April is Important to Me” »
I can almost guarantee that this good news post has nothing to do with what you think. It is true that it is about health and my physical state but it is not about running or pushups. As you may (or may not) know, I have been on a long road of recovery since being … Read More “Getting Some Exercise” »
So this has not been a great weekend for me. As I recently blogged, my sarcoidosis is now active in my eyes and is causing quite a bit of pain. In addition, the sarcoidosis is flaring elsewhere in my body. My chest hurts, my back hurts, my hip hurts, my knee hurts, my ankle hurts. … Read More “Light in Darkness” »
I have no intention of making this blog a place to complain about my health issues. However, sarcoidosis is so poorly known that I feel obligated to educate people about it. I recently blogged about sarcoidosis and this time I will share a different side of my experience. Most people have not heard of sarcoidosis. … Read More “Sarcoidosis: The Eyes Have It” »
I have told the story of how I discovered that I had sarcoidosis. At the time I was first sick, I was convinced that I had lymphoma and finding out that I had sarcoidosis was the best news in the world. When people thought I had lymphoma, there was a lot of concern about my … Read More “Sarcoidosis is a Pain” »
I realized that it has been a while since I gave a health update and I do get asked about it regularly. For those of you new to this blog, here is a bit of my background. A year and a half ago, I became very sick. For many months, the doctors had no idea … Read More “Sarcoidosis: A Year and a Half Later” »
For the last few days I have felt as if I am having a sarcoidosis flare up. What does that look like? I am more tired than ever. My usually energizing 20-minute nap does not touch my fatigue. I have also had some muscle and joint pain. A few time over these days, the pain … Read More “An Eye to the Past and an Eye to the Future” »
For the last number of months I have been working only part-time at Faith Today. The reason for this was my health. My sarcoidosis was hitting me hard. While I had pain, the worst part was the fatigue and the mental confusion (likely connected). I just couldn’t keep myself together. Faith Today was nice enough … Read More “Full Steam Ahead” »
A year ago at this time, I was in pretty rough shape. I was in tremendous pain, I was walking with a cane and my weight was dropping rapidly. Worst of all, I had no idea what was wrong with me. All I had was fear. Now I am feeling much better and I have … Read More “Health Update” »
I had a follow-up appointment this morning to go over the results of my sleep study. I assumed that they would insist on CPAP machine but I was relieved to have them not even mention it. The best thing was meeting with a doctor who knew what he was talking about. The problem is that … Read More “Brain Trust” »
So how am I doing? I get asked that a lot. I usually say “fine.”The truth is there is a cloud on the horizon. It was a year ago at this time that my sarcoidosis made itself known. I have had a pretty good winter and spring. But as the weather gets hotter, I am … Read More “Another Health Update” »
This article shares the story of two people with sarcoidosis. You may find their experience interesting. I have some things in common with them but not everything. This article is helpful because it demonstrates how serious sarcoidosis can be. Please note that I do not endorse the radical treatment the one person decided to take.
