Columns

This is not a story about COVID-19. It is about Angelman syndrome and a daily jazz show, but the coronavirus does make an appearance. If it weren’t for Angelman syndrome, I wouldn’t know anything about jazz. If we didn’t live near Music City, I wouldn’t know professional musicians. If musicians…

We have a problem: My husband, Dave, is a surgeon. Normally, we are proud that his long hours go toward an undeniably good cause: to save the lives of children with heart defects. But now, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave’s career is risky because he is the…

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.14.2020: This is our 34th day of self-quarantine. To survive, we’ve had to adapt to new restrictions and find distractions to prevent ourselves from losing our marbles. *** Easter was quiet. Instead of having family and friends join us to celebrate,…

I learned to cook by my mother’s knee. We baked cookies and kneaded dough. She even would give me cake batter for my turquoise Easy-Bake Oven. Sometimes, Mom would pull up a chair to the kitchen sink for me to stand on.

Who are we kidding? What are we hiding? OK, sure, it is bad when somebody steals enough personal information to open a fake credit card or empty a bank account. But really, most of us are pretty public about our names and addresses and what we care about on social…

For the longest time, my daughter’s motto was, “I may not know where I’m going, but I want to get there fast.” Jessie wore overalls as a kid, which gave me something to hold onto. But she started pulling me by the hand as she…

When my son was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome 20 years ago, I believed that we would find a cure. Lou had severe developmental delays and epilepsy. In 2000, the genetic cause of those symptoms was considered an address, not a route to treatment. Few people realized that his diagnosis…

Everybody wants my son’s cerebrospinal fluid. My 20-year-old son, Lou, has Angelman syndrome from a deletion of genes on his maternal 15th chromosome. The lack of those genes makes it hard for Lou’s brain to understand abstract concepts, such as waiting in line to buy ice cream that he…

For many kids, September typically means it’s time to go back to school. But for my daughter, Jessie, it was a continuation. Jessie was fortunate to have a year-round program, or at least I felt that way at the time. Due to her significant delays, the…

If my daughter, Jessie, doesn’t like what she hears, she will walk away. When her boyfriend — more of a buddy than a romantic interest — gets frustrated, he raises his voice and curses like a sailor. Jessie is unimpressed by his outbursts and avoids him…