Sometimes fatty liver disease is a family affair
I’m used to my teenage daughter’s eye rolls and heavy sighs when I talk about her health. I’ve had so many crazy things happen in…
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Setting my worries aside as my son tries different activities
My son Finley is a little ball of energy. He is super active and doesn’t like to rest or sleep. At 4 years old, he’s…
Liver medication can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be
Every month, I receive deliveries of my medications, most of them for my metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a fatty liver disease. I probably don’t need…
Learning to give grace to our sometimes mercurial 4-year-old
Saying that 4-year-olds can have crazy attitudes is not a groundbreaking statement. It’s not unusual for my son Finley to have wild swings from happy…
How clay sculpting helps me cope with my MASH diagnosis
The first time I ever held a ball of clay — OK, it was probably Play-Doh — I felt a strong connection to creating things…
Why ultrasounds bring out my parental anxiety
Taking my son Finley to various doctor appointments is nothing new. Since he was born a month early, visiting doctors and seeing various specialists…
Telling our 4-year-old that she has familial ‘tummy trouble’
I’ve often wondered how and when we’ll tell our daughter Eva that she has progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), a rare liver disease. Most…
Managing the itching associated with fatty liver disease
One thing I used to look forward to every spring was the end of my dry skin — a result of winter’s harsh rebuke of…
Preparing my son for warmer weather, which exacerbates his itch
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are inching into spring. This season brings days that tease us about what the weather could be. A recent…
Celebrating my son’s growth with Alagille syndrome
My son Finley was recently invited to a birthday party for one of his best friends. He was so excited that he talked about it…
