At my 4-year-old son Cayden’s last appointment with the otolaryngologist (ears, nose, and throat doctor, or ENT), the doctor and I decided that we should look into getting a new set of tubes for Cayden’s ears. Cayden, who has infantile-onset Pompe disease, showed signs of mild hearing loss during…
Community
Our Hawaii vacation was full of activities and adventures every day, but living with late-onset Pompe disease, I didn’t know how my body would respond to all the opportunities to do new things. Would my leg muscles be sore and achy every day? Would I need to…
Recently, we had a weird occurrence. For the first time, we had trouble accessing the port of my 4-year-old son, Cayden, for his infusion. A port is a small device that’s placed under the skin, usually in the chest, for multiple tasks, including blood draws, infusions, transfusions, IV fluids,…
A recent Hawaii vacation I took with my wife and friends was incredible, as I wrote in my last column. I’m enthusiastic about sharing even more about my experiences traveling while living with late-onset Pompe disease. I consider myself to be semi-ambulatory and can walk for short periods…
My 4-year-old son, Cayden, had to do a sleep study this month. Although he’s done them before, it’s been over two years since his last one. At his most recent checkup, Cayden’s pulmonary doctor mentioned that he wanted Cayden to do another sleep study to see how things…
I was excited yet nervous for my recent bucket-list vacation to Hawaii with my wife, Jean, her best friend from Montana, and one of my co-workers. The four of us flew six hours to Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines and stayed on the ninth floor of Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club,…
My 4-year-old son, Cayden, had a routine checkup with his metabolic specialists during a recent Pompe clinic day. Although we always know what to expect during these visits, that’s both a blessing and a curse. After Cayden sees the doctor and completes a physical therapy session, we then…
I attended an in-person educational presentation on Pompe disease this month in Hershey, Pennsylvania, that was hosted by Sanofi, the creator of two drugs that are treatment options for Pompe. I got to hear great information about “Taking Charge of Your Pompe Disease.” Most of the presentation…
Things seemed to be happening so fast as 2018 was ending. But it would go down in my books as the worst year of my life. Seven months earlier, back in April, we lost our oldest son, Adam, to a brain tumor. He was only 22 years old and full…
Last week, my 4-year-old son, Cayden, had a routine checkup with his pulmonary specialist. These visits occur about every six months. While we are certainly used to the appointments, we left with a great report this time, which isn’t always the case. Cayden’s pulmonologist has been seeing him since before…
Recent Posts
- When a medical trip feels like a vacation to a child with rare disease
- Newborn screening finds more presumed LOPD cases than expected
- How I’m building a full life while living with Pompe disease
- Chronic pain affects more than 80% of late-onset Pompe disease patients
- How my daughter’s medical backpack became a symbol of freedom