Columns

I think middle schoolers are a bunch of weirdos. I thought this even before Jonah, my son with junctional epidermolysis bullosa (EB), was a middle schooler himself. I have a K-12 education degree and taught high school Spanish for four years before having kids. When Jonah was in elementary…

I live with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare skin condition that makes my skin as fragile as the wings of a butterfly. That’s why we are called “butterfly children.” I like that name. It makes the disease sound beautiful and innocent, even if it is not. But it’s not…

I love Facebook‘s Memories feature. Although it can be a negative space, I do value it as a digital scrapbook for our family. Each day I open the app and reflect on what has happened on that day in previous years. There are hilarious stories, like the time our…

I’m avoiding packing. I have a two-page packing list with three columns per page staring up at me from my kitchen counter. I feel the printed pages mocking me as I pace the floors trying to get started. We leave for the beach in 48 hours, and I’m frozen in…

The skin is the body’s largest organ, with a total surface area of about 22 square feet. The skin protects us from microbes and the elements, helps regulate body temperature, and permits the sensations of touch, heat, and cold. In my case, my skin is “special.” I live with…

Last week, I tried something new, something I never thought I could do because of my condition. Many people told me I couldn’t do it, even though it’s a normal experience for most people. A new opportunity My boyfriend opened a restaurant, and I offered to help out during…

Our son Jonah’s last day of sixth grade was last week. Like every kid, he brought home loads of papers, folders, and notebooks. And like every kid, he left the contents piled on the dining room table waiting for it to magically clean itself up. After three days,…

“Did a wolf attack your face?”  That’s what the preteen asked my son Jonah, who was born with junctional epidermolysis bullosa, when Jonah approached their group to play whiffle ball. It was between his brother’s Carolina Wolfpack baseball games. Jonah was…

We have good days and bad days, and good weeks and bad weeks. Twelve years into our fight with epidermolysis bullosa, we’re pretty used to the ups and downs. But two weeks ago, we had one of our worst weeks ever.  It started on Tuesday…

This month, I want more diversity. I want to see more reality in the media and in advertisements and commercials. Show us real people who have stretch marks, scars, and imperfections, because that’s normal. Normalize different body types I want society to normalize different body types and to stop body…

My son Jonah loves baseball. He watches almost every Atlanta Braves game on TV and looks at MLB highlights on YouTube every morning. He plays it on PlayStation 4, with a plastic bat and rubber ball in the backyard, and with a soft ball and bat…

This month, I was once again impressed by how well connected the epidermolysis bullosa (EB) community is. I remember when I was younger, no such connection existed on social media like we have today. Rare is many – but not always locally As EB is a rare disease, only a…