-
Career, Domestic violence, Financial health, mental health, Real women real stories, Self-Care, Work
As a Journalist Who Was an Early Domestic Violence Victim, Writing and Teaching Have Been the Best Medicine
Read More: As a Journalist Who Was an Early Domestic Violence Victim, Writing and Teaching Have Been the Best MedicineOctober is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. He was a lawyer with a red Alfa Romeo, a 7 handicap in golf and a new two-bedroom condo in a leafy Washington, D.C. suburb. I was a banking and pensions reporter with a spotty driving record, a shopping problem, and a studio apartment in an iffy D.C.…
-
Cervical cancer, Gynecological cancer, Hpv, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories, Vaccinations, Vaccines
How a Cervical Cancer Diagnosis in My 20s Taught Me How to Live
Read More: How a Cervical Cancer Diagnosis in My 20s Taught Me How to LiveAs told to Liz Sauchelli When I was younger, I wanted to be the next Oprah. As a broadcaster, my mind was always on the next story or package to produce. At 25, after years of freelancing, I’d finally landed a full-time job with health benefits and I felt like I was on my way…
-
Bone health, Chronic conditions, chronic pain, COVID-19, healthy aging, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Osteoporosis, Pain, Pandemic, Real women real stories
It Wasnโt Muscle Damage: It Was Four Fractures and Osteoporosis
Read More: It Wasnโt Muscle Damage: It Was Four Fractures and OsteoporosisAs told to Liz Sauchelli It had been two weeks since I’d slipped on the front stairs of my home and my back was still in excruciating pain. The emergency room doctor I’d seen after my fall thought I had muscle damage and had sprained my back. He prescribed anti-inflammatories and painkillers without taking an…
-
My Adult ADHD Diagnosis Changed How I Parent My ADHD Kids
Read More: My Adult ADHD Diagnosis Changed How I Parent My ADHD KidsAs told to Michele Wojciechowski October is ADHD Awareness Month. All my life, I knew something was different about me. School was always tough. When I was in elementary school, my teachers complained that I was either falling asleep in class or I was talking too much and unable to sit still. I couldn’t help…
-
cancer, Cancer survivor, Cervical cancer, Gynecological cancer, Medical tests, Menstrual period, Period, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories
My Close Friendโs Cancer Diagnosis Helped Save My Life
Read More: My Close Friendโs Cancer Diagnosis Helped Save My LifeAs told to Fortesa Latifi I know my body, and I know when something’s wrong โ even when doctors don’t believe me. My period pain had been dismissed my entire life, but after watching my close friend die of cancer, I knew I could no longer afford to be quiet. Last year, I had a…
-
Breast cancer, Breast cancer survivor, Breast health, Medical tests, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories
A Mammogram Saved My Life
Read More: A Mammogram Saved My LifeOctober 15 is National Mammography Day. As told to Jackie Froeber The mammogram stars aligned for me in 2017. I was working at St. Peter’s Health Partners and popped into a co-worker’s office to say hi. On her desk was a flier advertising free mammograms over the weekend for employees. I had just turned 40…
-
Sepsis Took My Limbs, But I Fought Hard for My Independence
Read More: Sepsis Took My Limbs, But I Fought Hard for My IndependenceAs told to Jackie Froeber September is Sepsis Awareness Month. On the morning of my interview for this story, I was admitted to the ER with a 104.7 fever. I arrived at the hospital wrapped in blankets and shivering โ I couldn’t get warm โ and I thought, Oh no, it’s happening again. I’m going…
-
I Was a Gestational Carrier, and Iโd Do It Again in a Heartbeat
Read More: I Was a Gestational Carrier, and Iโd Do It Again in a HeartbeatAs told to Liz Sauchelli It started when my husband and I were constantly seeing tragic events on the news. We decided we needed to do something to bring a little joy into the world and to make it a better place for someone. We looked into a number of options including adoption, fostering and…
-
Coping With a Rare Blood Disorder
Read More: Coping With a Rare Blood DisorderAs told to Liz Sauchelli I’d been looking forward to the trip for weeks: My 4-month-old daughter and I were going to visit a friend from college I hadn’t seen for two years. But when I woke up that Friday morning, I had a headache, abdominal pain and a sore throat. I went to an…
-
My Psoriasis Led to My Empowerment
Read More: My Psoriasis Led to My EmpowermentAs told to Alex Fulton “Upheaval” doesn’t begin to describe the state of my life in 2014. I was a newly single mother of two living in a busy city, so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised when all the stress of going through a divorce and moving started to show up on my skin.…
-
Breast Cancer, Mama Mode and Me
Read More: Breast Cancer, Mama Mode and MeAs told to Alexandra Frost I told my doctor I had breast cancer before he told me โ I’d just finished helping my mom through her own breast cancer journey, I’d had skin cancer before, and I consider myself very in tune with my body. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was the lessons I’d learn…
-
Cuidados mรฉdicos, Enfermedad cardรญaca, Enfermedad cardiovascular, Real women real stories, Salud cardรญaca
Mi esposa tiene una enfermedad cardiaca severa
Read More: Mi esposa tiene una enfermedad cardiaca severaTal como se lo relataron a Kimberly Rex Lidiรฉ con innumerables emergencias mรฉdicas en mi capacidad de paramรฉdica cuando tenรญa entre veinte y cuarenta aรฑos. Coloque palas de desfibriladores en los pechos de pacientes, enviando descargas elรฉctricas a sus corazones para que vuelvan a latir, y aplicando tรฉcnicas de RCP a muchas vรญctimas de ataques…
-
My Wife Has Severe Heart Disease
Read More: My Wife Has Severe Heart DiseaseEspaรฑol As told to Kimberly Rex As a paramedic during my twenties and thirties, I dealt with endless medical emergencies. I placed paddles on patients’ chests, shocking their hearts back to beating, and performed CPR on countless heart attack victims. Since 2008, as a cardiology physician assistant (PA), I’ve spent my days examining heart failure…
-
My Cardiovascular Disease Taught Me How to Live
Read More: My Cardiovascular Disease Taught Me How to LiveAs told to Kimberly Rex On a bright and early January morning 10 years ago, I sat in my living room while my one-year-old son Carter entertained himself in his playpen. My son has special needs. He was born at 23 weeks and spent more than six months in the neonatal intensive care unit. I’d…
-
healthy aging, Miscarriage, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories, Skin, Skin health, Vaccinations, Vaccines
I Got Shingles at 29
Read More: I Got Shingles at 29As told to Fortesa Latifi I was hiking on a mild winter day in East Tennessee. It was a Saturday, and I was wearing my favorite hoodie โ you know, the one that fits so well you keep it for a decade. But that day, something felt weird. It felt like an object was in…
-
Anxiety, Breastfeeding, Depression, Medication safety, mental health, Newborn, Parenting, Postpartum, Pregnancy, Prescription drugs, Real women real stories, Self-Care, sleep, Stress
When Postpartum Depression Hit, I Heard Only the Lies My Depression Told Me
Read More: When Postpartum Depression Hit, I Heard Only the Lies My Depression Told MeAs told to Erica Rimlinger After trying to conceive for over a year, my husband and I were thrilled when we learned I was pregnant with my daughter. I was so excited I read about natural ways to support my changing body, hired a doula and prepared for the birth. My pregnancy was a smooth…
-
The ER Doctor Thought I Was Overreacting: I Had a Pulmonary Embolism
Read More: The ER Doctor Thought I Was Overreacting: I Had a Pulmonary EmbolismAs told to Liz Sauchelli I looked the ER doctor in the eye and insisted he give me a CAT scan. I couldn’t understand his lack of urgency and the way he downplayed the seriousness of the situation. I was there because another doctor had found a huge blood clot in my leg, and 18…
-
Being Pregnant Was Wonderful. And Overwhelming.
Read More: Being Pregnant Was Wonderful. And Overwhelming.As told to Shannon Shelton Miller Every time I visited the doctor during my pregnancy, I’d take a test or undergo a screening to make sure my baby was all right. My healthcare providers (HCPs) checked my vitals too, giving me a clean bill of physical health each time. But no one asked how I…
-
As a Political Commentator and Consultant, I Was Used to Pivoting. But Brain Surgery Spun My Life in a Whole New Direction.
Read More: As a Political Commentator and Consultant, I Was Used to Pivoting. But Brain Surgery Spun My Life in a Whole New Direction.As told to Jaimie Seaton In early 2020, I started getting increasingly painful and exhausting headaches. But Covid-19 was just starting to ramp up, the country was on lockdown and I was busy working remotely as a political consultant โ so I dismissed them as added stress from Covid and focused on work. “Everyone is…
-
Surgical Menopause Hit Me Hard, but Iโm Reconnecting With my Body โ and My Partner
Read More: Surgical Menopause Hit Me Hard, but Iโm Reconnecting With my Body โ and My PartnerAs told to Alex Fulton The call came after lunch. It was November, just before my 47th birthday. That morning, I’d gone for a transvaginal ultrasound, as I’d done every six months since becoming aware of my BRCA1 mutation 10 years earlier. The BRCA1 mutation greatly increases breast cancer and ovarian cancer risk, so doctors…
-
I Survived a Stroke at 30
Read More: I Survived a Stroke at 30As told to Shannon Shelton Miller I was only 30 when I had an ischemic stroke that developed when blood clots traveled to my brain. Within hours, I went from completing work at home on my couch to hearing a doctor tell me I could die. People assume only older people have strokes, but no…
-
Access, Affordability, caregiving, Chronic conditions, Clinical trials, Health care, Health policy, Medical research and clinical trials, Medication safety, Parenting, Real women real stories, Research, Science, Skin, Skin health
What Itโs Like to Care for a Child With Severe Eczema
Read More: What Itโs Like to Care for a Child With Severe EczemaWhen our daughter Tilly was 5 months old, my husband and I noticed a rash on her face and neck. She was obviously itchy and pretty cranky about it, so we took her to her pediatrician. After a long process that involved changing everything from detergents to my diet (because I was breastfeeding), as well…
-
Access, Access to health care, Anxiety, Chronic conditions, Health care, Health care professionals, Health disparities, mental health, Nutrition, Obesity, Preventive health, Real women real stories
I Thought Weight-Loss Surgery Would End My Struggle With Obesity. Then I Found Out Maintaining a Healthy Body and Mind Is a Lifelong Commitment.
Read More: I Thought Weight-Loss Surgery Would End My Struggle With Obesity. Then I Found Out Maintaining a Healthy Body and Mind Is a Lifelong Commitment.As told to Jackie Froeber In 2001, I was in the checkout aisle at the grocery store when I saw a magazine cover touting Carnie Wilson’s gastric bypass surgery. By the time I was through with the article, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time: hope that I could lose weight. I’ve…
-
Access, Access to health care, Chronic conditions, Health care, Health care professionals, Health disparities, Obesity, Preventive health, Racial disparities, Real women real stories
Losing Weight Helped Heal Not Just My Body, But My Mind and Spirit, Too
Read More: Losing Weight Helped Heal Not Just My Body, But My Mind and Spirit, TooAs told to Kimberly Rex Before December 2017, I was anxious every time I had to ride on an airplane. But it’s not because I was afraid to fly. I was angry and embarrassed because I hated asking the flight attendant for a seat belt extender. I was 5 feet 1 inch tall and 323…
-
Tourette Syndrome Is My Superpower
Read More: Tourette Syndrome Is My SuperpowerAs told to Liz Sauchelli Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month is May 15 to June 15 The night before taking a test in sixth grade, I wouldn’t worry about the questions, I’d worry about the silence. I’d go in the next day prepared with a small pile of cough drops on my desk, an easy explanation…
-
Anxiety, Depression, mental health, Parenting, Postpartum, Real women real stories, Self-Care, Stress
My Parents Dismissed My Anxiety. Now Iโm Helping My Daughter Work Through Hers
Read More: My Parents Dismissed My Anxiety. Now Iโm Helping My Daughter Work Through HersAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I can’t remember a time during my childhood when I didn’t feel worried. Even in first grade, there was always this sense of unease in my stomach, a tangled knot of dread. My mind was constantly churning out terrifying “what ifs.” What if…
-
It Took 2 Years and a Second Opinion to Find My Bladder Cancer
Read More: It Took 2 Years and a Second Opinion to Find My Bladder CancerAs told to Alex Fulton On a perfectly normal day in 2014, I went to the bathroom and noticed bright red blood in my urine. I’ve had a hysterectomy, a surgery to remove my uterus, so I knew it couldn’t be my period. “That’s strange,” I thought, concerned. When I went to the bathroom again…
-
Treating Covid-19 Patients in the ICU Nearly Broke Me, But Now Iโm Stronger for It
Read More: Treating Covid-19 Patients in the ICU Nearly Broke Me, But Now Iโm Stronger for ItAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector May 12 is International Nurses Day. Imagine a sudden hailstorm โ the kind that forces you to duck for cover under a canopy or whisk away into a cab. Only in this scenario, there is no canopy, no cab. There is not even an umbrella or a raincoat. It’s…
-
Gynecological cancer, Medical tests, Ovarian cancer, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories
Ovarian Cancer Is Not a Death Sentence
Read More: Ovarian Cancer Is Not a Death SentenceAs told to Jackie Froeber May 8 is World Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day. I was 44 years old when I began feeling a pulsating pain on the left side of my lower back. The pain lasted about a day and started around the time I was supposed to start my period. When I didn’t start…
-
Crohn’s, Crohn’s disease, Digestive disorders, Digestive health, Ibd, Inflammatory bowel disease, Medical tests, Real women real stories, Self-Care
Taking Control of My Crohn’s Disease
Read More: Taking Control of My Crohn’s DiseaseMy journey with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) started in 2006 when I was 22. I had just started a job at a high-power Wall Street firm in New York City and, having a family history of colorectal cancer, I went for a colonoscopy as soon as my health insurance kicked in. Doctors told me I…
-
My Autism Diagnosis in My Late 30s Changed My Life for the Better
Read More: My Autism Diagnosis in My Late 30s Changed My Life for the BetterMarch 29 to April 4 is Autism Awareness Week. I woke up in the hospital in the middle of the night to the worst pain of my life. I felt my jugular vein in my neck pulsing, and I was crying uncontrollably. The doctors whisked me off for an emergency CT scan of my head…
-
I Was Obese and Taking 5 Medications for Type 2 Diabetes. Now Iโm Medication-Free.
Read More: I Was Obese and Taking 5 Medications for Type 2 Diabetes. Now Iโm Medication-Free.As told to Jackie Froeber Growing up, I never had a problem with my weight. I was an active kid and I loved playing outdoors. After I had my own kids, I ran to get back in shape. I was also a firefighter, which helped keep me motivated to stay trim and healthy. But, when…
-
Coronavirus, COVID-19, Depression, mental health, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Real women real stories, Self-Care, sleep, Stress, Yoga
Boxing is helping me rage out my grief after losing my pregnancy and my father
Read More: Boxing is helping me rage out my grief after losing my pregnancy and my fatherWhen I learned I was pregnant in mid-December, my husband, Patrick, and I were ecstatic. We’d been trying for a year and given my “geriatric” age of 37, had been wondering if something was wrong. Patrick, 42, had his semen tested. All clear! I had some blood tests to measure my hormone and thyroid levels…
-
Coronavirus, COVID-19, Health care, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories, Vaccinations, Vaccines
Covid-19 Made Me a Widow at 38
Read More: Covid-19 Made Me a Widow at 38As told to Shannon Shelton Miller My husband, Ricardo Ramos, was 45 when he passed away from Covid-19. We would have celebrated our 15th anniversary in November 2020. Ricardo was the definition of a family man. He took care of both his parents before they died of cancer and helped me take care of my…
-
Anxiety, Body image, Depression, Eating disorders, mental health, Obesity, Real women real stories, Self-Care
I Had An Eating Disorder for 20 Years Before I Knew Anything Was Wrong
Read More: I Had An Eating Disorder for 20 Years Before I Knew Anything Was WrongAs told to Alex Fulton February 22-28, 2021 is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. My eating disorder started when I was 12. I was sitting in the kitchen eating some chips when my father came in and looked at me. “You’re getting chubby,” he said. Then he turned to my mom. “You need to watch…
-
Chronic conditions, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Diabetes, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories, Vaccinations, Vaccines
I Live With a Chronic Illness. Vaccines Help Me Stay Alive.
Read More: I Live With a Chronic Illness. Vaccines Help Me Stay Alive.I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when I was 7, and I’ve lived with diabetes for more than 40 years. I want to stay as healthy as possible because diabetes is a progressive disease that can cause your health to deteriorate as years go by. I haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine yet, but when…
-
My Heart Attack at 43 Was Terrifying. Then It Changed My Life for the Better.
Read More: My Heart Attack at 43 Was Terrifying. Then It Changed My Life for the Better.As told to Kimberly Rex In October 2015, I had a busy life with a demanding career as a deputy head teacher at a high school in England and two daughters, ages 6 and 10. At 43, I was an active swimmer and tried to eat well and stay fit. One Sunday, after a frazzled…
-
Fitness, Healthy Eating, Healthy living, Nutrition, Obesity, Real women real stories, Weight management
Representation Matters: Why I Decided to Start a Healthy Habits Instagram Account for Bigger Women
Read More: Representation Matters: Why I Decided to Start a Healthy Habits Instagram Account for Bigger WomenAs told to Gila Lyons Everything changed for me on Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncle’s house in 2017. I knew I’d been gaining weight in college, but I’d been too afraid to weigh myself for years. They had a scale at their house, and, heart racing, I stepped on. I was 298 pounds…
-
How I Learned to Love My Bald Self
Read More: How I Learned to Love My Bald SelfAs told to Liz Sauchelli As the elevator descended, my nerves got worse with every floor we passed. But I knew I was ready. Four years after I was diagnosed with alopecia, I was about to appear in public for the first time without a hat, head covering or wig. I was at the National…
-
cancer, Cervical cancer, Gynecological cancer, Hpv, Medical tests, Prevention, Preventive health, Real women real stories, Vaccinations, Vaccines
Cervical Cancer Taught Me to Talk About My Vagina
Read More: Cervical Cancer Taught Me to Talk About My VaginaJanuary is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. My community, the Hispanic community, can be very shy about penises and vaginas. Most of the time, we’d rather not talk about them. I’m college educated, and I’ve seen pretty much everything you can name working as a New York City police officer for over 20 years, but I…
-
Abuse, Depression, Eating disorders, mental health, Obesity, Parenting, Real women real stories, Self-Care
I Recovered from Obesity and Bulimia Triggered by Sexual Abuse Once. And I Can Do It Again.
Read More: I Recovered from Obesity and Bulimia Triggered by Sexual Abuse Once. And I Can Do It Again.As told to Gila Lyons I’ve dealt with weight issues and bulimia since I was 16 years old. My weight’s gone up and down throughout my life, and today โ at 55 years old โ I’m 5’3″ and weigh 190 pounds. At times, I feel depressed and humiliated by my weight, but I have hope…
