Wellness
Curling for a Cause and a Cure for Lupus Nephritis
I had the recent honor of interviewing Regan Birr, a woman who, despite a lupus nephritis diagnosis after college, harnessed a mountain of motivation to protect her kidney health and seek a cure through curling. Curling? Yes, you read that right. As a born and bred Canadian, Regan explains, curling is in her blood. It…
Read MoreThe Power of Someone to Save a Life
Michele Hagel didn’t always know that she had the power to save a life. But a Facebook post and a prayer changed that. Scrolling through her feed, she learned her fellow Medtronic employee, Mark Bubalo, had kidney failure. Grueling dialysis treatments kept him alive. He needed a kidney transplant. If a living donor stepped forward…
Read MoreThe Gift of Living Kidney Donation: Paying it Forward
I’m honored to work with Andrea Deanovic Schmidt on the National Kidney Foundation Board, Serving Minnesota. Andrea is a fellow kidney transplant recipient, thanks to her heroic brother, Pete Deanovic. He didn’t hesitate to save his sister with his living kidney donation. Pete’s benevolence restored Andrea’s health, and she feels grateful every day. But there’s…
Read MoreA Vacation to Serena & Lily Land
Do you dream of a vacation where you leave the to-do list behind? Me too. But it’s not always possible. So when I need a mini-escape, I just flip open a Serena & Lily catalog. Breezy California-style, here I come. It’s more than crisp photos of furniture, bedding, and accessories—it’s a quick trip to Fantasy…
Read MoreThe Joy of “Normal”
When I interviewed Mary Roethler about her remarkable claim to fame—a kidney transplant recipient celebrating 42 healthy years compliments of her sister, Ruth—her zest for life burst through our phone connection. All the normalcy she’d enjoyed since the age of fifteen (when she received her sister’s life-saving gift), seemed a miracle. Freedom from a dialysis…
Read MoreOne Word to Dramatically Reduce Stress and Improve Happiness
You’d enjoy more life balance and productivity in 2022, right? But, as always, you juggle a lot of balls. And people ask (often) if they can toss more into your mix. Of course, you want to say yes. You’re a nice person. A people pleaser. So, you catch another ball. And another. Now you resent…
Read MoreI Miss You, Cashier Lady
Here’s an essay of mine published by the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop in July. It never made it to my blog due to technical difficulties. Don’t get me started on technical difficulties, they are the bane of my existence. But now it’s October and there is a happy ending. My blog is no longer rejecting…
Read MoreThe List that Changed My Life
I recently heard Cheryl Strayed, an author I admire (best known for her memoir Wild) tell this story, and it stuck with me. She was riding in the car with her ex-husband years ago. On an icy patch of a Wisconsin highway, the car started to slip and slide. As he tightly gripped the wheel,…
Read MoreThe Power of People to Help People
September 1st is a noteworthy day for my husband and me. Because eight years ago on this very day, Dirk donated his kidney to a stranger to enable me to receive a gift from a 25-year-old man I’ve never met—an altruistic donor who wanted to share his extra kidney. When Dirk’s selflessness merged with the…
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