As a teen, I idolized Princess Diana and was devastated when she died. As a mom of three young boys at the time, and having grown up without my own mom, I knew all too well the devastation her young sons were feeling. All I kept thinking was: Those poor boys. With the news of Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare being released in January, I pre-ordered a copy and cleared my reading calendar. Even so, I was completely unprepared for the emotions I experienced when I read it. [More]

I’ve often shared about my “Sunday SubQ” routine of clearing my afternoon schedule, turning on my guilty pleasure reality TV shows and administering my weekly dose of subcutaneous immune globulin (SCIG). However, I recently grappled with what to do when two Sundays in a row happened to be holidays and my infusions were due. Luckily, when it comes to SCIG, it’s easy to flex the infusing schedule by two days, either way! [More]

Five years ago, when I started blogging on the professional level, I was highly encouraged to include social media pages that corresponded with my blog. And, even though my local paper no longer supports blog content, I continue to promote my writing through social media. About a year ago, I branched my content into the world of TikTok, where I came upon an adorable geriatric pug, Noodle, and his wonderful adoptive owner, Jonathan Graziano. [More]

There is no doubt about it. It’s an ongoing juggling act to be chronically ill. If we aren’t juggling our energy stores, we are juggling our med schedules. And nobody can dismiss for a moment the juggling chronically ill patients and their families must do to pay for those meds. If meds are in the rare disease category, it’s a bigger juggle. I’m beginning to think I should have gone to clown school instead of college. [More]

By Dawn DeBois

When I transitioned from monthly intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) treatments to we [More]

Immune globulin (IG) patient Dawn DeBois explains to readers how people who suffer from chronic illness have their own type of SAD. [More]

My home state of Maine has not been exempted from the recent heat wave that has encompassed most of the United States. The heat is difficult for many, but I have a neuromuscular disease that is exacerbated by the heat, so I must be particularly careful to stay cool and hydrated. Each morning, I do two things without fail. First, I open all the windows at 5 a.m. to fill my rental with cool air before the outside heat necessitates closing them again and turning on the air conditioning. Second, I mix a hydration packet into my water. I can’t help but think of how similar this second routine is to my immune globulin (IG) treatment regimen. [More]

At 46 years old, I found myself officially disabled due to multiple autoimmune diseases and a soon-to-be diagnosed rare disease. My 40s certainly hadn’t turned out the way I had hoped. I was spending all my time on specialist visits, disability applications, diagnostic procedures and treatment protocols. None of this was what I had envisioned when starting my family in my early 20s. [More]