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When a child returns to school after a cancer diagnosis, adjustment can be challenging for both the family and school alike. Children with cancer may experience many disruptions in their school attendance due to frequent hospitalizations, side effects of treatment and overall fatigue. Figuring out a plan with the school will be an important part of the child’s recovery.
School is the defining structure in a child’s day-to-day life. Going back to school signals a return to normalcy for children with cancer and...
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His father sat in a chair across the room; a few floating balloons bunched together in the nearby corner. I remember kneeling on the floor in front of him, holding his hand in mine. His mother was sitting on the couch next to us. She kept looking over at her son in the hospital bed, speaking to him in Spanish. “Mi amor” was the only part I understood. She said it to him multiple times, as if it were his name.
I knew the boy – a little friend of mine in a big hospital filled with lots of other little friends. He...
Images courtesy of Shunte Deckard
The melodies of “The Wiggles” are coming from the living room TV as a toddler stands in the center of the room, pretending to play his blue Mickey Mouse guitar. Lance has a passion for playing instruments. As his father and I glance at him, we remember how four years ago we never thought we’d see him grow into such a vibrant, intelligent boy.
I will never forget 2014. When I was 18 weeks pregnant, my OB/GYN suggested a cervical cerclage considering a previous miscarriage of mine. My pregnancy was considered high-risk, so we monitored and checked in weekly with our...
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Visit your local farmer’s market. Lots of our produce items travel from other states and from countries such as Mexico and Guatemala, but we have local options are available here in the city and surrounding areas. Greater Houston is fortunate to feature several urban farmers markets, which offer a wide variety of goods produced close to home. Consider these options:
If you’re buying store produce or...
Images courtesy of Tristen Brown and Sharon Varley
I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder, when I was born in 2001. I was like most kids growing up – active and filled with energy. I was pretty healthy throughout most of my adolescence, too. When time passed, I was hospitalized frequently from repeated cystic fibrosis exacerbations. In early 2016, my health started to decline when I was a freshman in high school. I had to stop attending public school and start online school once I realized I was falling behind in my schoolwork due to the hospitalizations. This allowed me to do schoolwork...