Growing up Catholic leaves you with a spiritual starter pack—some guilt, a few hymns you’ll never forget, and a reflex to question everything, especially when chronic illness enters the chat. Living with sarcoidosis only sharpened those questions, but not in the “Why me?” way people expect. More like, “Okay universe, what lesson are you clearly dying to teach me this time?” The real story sits somewhere between faith, frustration, and a chef who refuses to stop asking uncomfortable questions…
The Study That Tried to Measure My Despair (But Forgot I Was Busy Surviving)
Recently, I sat through a medical survey that was so obsessed with despair you’d think optimism was contraband. As someone juggling heart failure and sarcoidosis with the grace of a caffeinated cat, I realized just how differently I approached my own medical circus. The questions were supposed to measure my suffering, but instead they reminded me of something far more unexpected… and a little hilarious in hindsight.
