After emigrating from his native Sweden, Ronald spent a stint in the Merchant Marines while trying to work out what he wanted to do with his life. He discovered a love of writing while helping a friend write anonymous Harry Potter fan-fiction online; he discovered meaning to his writing when he began journaling after an anxiety disorder diagnosis. Ronald is most relaxed when spending quiet time with his wife, two sons, and hyperactive cat.
Every spring, as the weather warms up, millions of Americans strap on their hiking boots, pack their tents, and head out into the woods for a weekend of fun and…
While the national conversation on healthcare has recently and rightly focused on the political debate over the Affordable Care Act’s future, it’s worth remembering what’s happening on the “street level”…
Some scientific breakthroughs, while exciting, require a calm, measured response. Most, make that all, demand repetition and duplication, as per the scientific method. But there are a select few that,…
One of the hardest parts of being diagnosed with a strange condition you’ve never heard of—like Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)—is just getting your arms around what the hell it is…
Sometimes, the race to develop breakthrough treatments for rare and devastating illnesses can feel less like the Indy 500 and more like a game of Curling played by armless sloths.…
Anyone who has been paying attention to, well, life, knows that alcohol abuse utterly destroys your liver over time. It does so by depositing lots and lots of lovely fat…
It’s probably symptomatic of our celebrity culture that many people tend to associate diseases not with symptoms, but with famous people. For example: Multiple Sclerosis is what Richard Pryor and…
As humanity collectively slinks into the cold, dark days of winter, we could all use something to warm us up… or at least bring a small slice of sunshine. Well,…
It sounds like a cliché to say that “becoming a parent changes everything.” Probably because it is a cliché. But as a parent, I know it also happens to be…
Every week, my son’s principal sends a voicemail to parents highlighting the week’s news and activities. At the end of the message, she signs off with a reminder to “Be…
Now that the brutal and bruising 2016 Presidential Election is behind us and we’ve waded into the Trump era, maybe we can finally move past some of the most divisive…
One of the most frustrating aspects of living with a chronic or rare condition is the financial stress it places on patients and their families. Doctor’s visits and prescription drugs…
Here at Patient Worthy, we chronicle the news, issues, and stories affecting people living with or impacted by rare diseases. While the symptoms and mechanics vary from disease to disease…
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by everything going on in your life—finances, job, family drama (save it for your mama)—you have some idea of what mental fatigue feels like. But…
Here’s a story that serves as a sobering reminder of how genetic diseases can lay dormant and undetected for years, and how quickly they can come roaring to life… with…
It’s always heartening to see scientists take up research in therapeutic areas that are under served and poorly understood. And when their research yields positive results, it’s downright amazing. Honestly,…
Science has a Little Engine That Could story that you may want to check out. It makes for a pretty dense read, but once you wade through the data, the…
This past December, the United States Congress was temporarily struck by a moment of bipartisanship when it passed the 21st Century Cures Bill. The bill, which President Obama signed into…
When most people think of inflammatory diseases, they tend to think of conditions that affect the joints, the skin, or organs in the digestive track. But imagine if the inflammation…
For those who watch the efforts to combat chronic diseases from the sidelines, it’s easy to see the war as one where humans are the underdogs facing a huge, formidable…
Ammonia. Even if you don’t know much about it, you know it’s great for cleaning but not so great for ingesting. You… you do know not to ingest it, right?…
For anyone living with severe chronic pain from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), the best possible gift they could receive—short of a cure—would be a good treatment. To date, however,…
As the wild, fractious year of 2016 claws it’s way to the finish line, we could really, really, REALLY use some good news. In a year that took away so…
When you live with a life-changing disease like myasthenia gravis, or MG, it’s normal to feel down or have difficulty adjusting to the loss of control. For many, it’s easy…
Few conditions are as widely misunderstood as Tourette Syndrome, and sadly, even fewer are so readily targeted for cheap laughs and rude humor. The reality of living with Tourette’s is…
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