Columns

In March, I was blessed to go on a mission with my 81-year-old mother, my 14-year-old daughter, Marisa, and two other moms and their girls. We arrived in the stunningly beautiful Costa Rica and spent a week in a small village nestled in the mountains, where we visited the homebound,…

Two friends and I recently left the warmth of Texas to brave the snow and freezing temperatures of Kansas, where the three of us have sons at Benedictine College. The campus hosts a mother-son (and father-daughter) event, with a cocktail hour, a fine dinner, and a dance. It was a…

My son Anthony, who’s a senior in college majoring in accounting, recently told me, “I would’ve chosen to go to medical school if I didn’t think I had a short life expectancy.” His words stopped me in my tracks. Anthony is one of my three children who are living…

Like many American homes in January, our household is working to change habits. We’ve decided to take on the challenge of purging our diets of sugar, gluten, and highly processed foods. At the moment, four of us in the house are prepared to embrace clean eating, but only one of…

In a portion of the population with Fabry disease (FD), strokes and transient ischemic attacks (stroke-like symptoms that last only a short time) are a common manifestation of the disease. As a Fabry patient, the potential for stroke is scary. In 2011, a cousin of mine who had FD…

I grew up in a missionary family, and we were constantly moving. By the time I was in the fourth grade, we’d lived in six different countries. Moving around the world, experiencing new cultures, and interacting with all kinds of people were formative for me. I love travel, adventure, and…

Fabry disease can be an indirect cause of cancer after a transplant. I’m an example of that possibility. After my 2020 heart transplant at Duke University Medical Center, I was told that my risk of developing cancer was higher. The organ transplant antirejection medications I must take…

My oldest sons, twins Michael and Anthony, have Fabry disease. Their symptoms have been present since childhood, but back then, we didn’t know that Fabry was the culprit. The boys’ health issues became more pronounced during their tumultuous teen years, leading to genetic testing for our…

For several years before I had a heart transplant in September 2020, I’d become progressively weaker, more fatigued, and out of breath. Like many others with Fabry disease, I had heart, kidney, and lung disease, and I’d lived an increasingly sedentary lifestyle for several years. As my…

Note: This column describes the experiences of the author’s children with various enzyme replacement therapies. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. “Straight Paths With Crooked Lines,” my column, describes the VanVickle family’s journey with Fabry disease,…