Bed

A Eulogy

I felt a strange, unrelenting calling to write about my former bed. Oh the things that happen in bed. It’s a powerful place.

Good morning wonderful RDG readers,

First, I want to share that my article has dropped in STAT News (the biggest medical-focused publication owned by the Boston Globe)! This is a BIG DEAL for Mama Tay!

A couple months ago, I was deeply frustrated that patients and advocates with my disease were not granted a requested listening session during or after a three year project to propose a new name. So I wrote a piece about my thoughts on the new name - and while it's about my disease specifically, it's also about the value of the patient voice.

"In a time where the patient voice is being elevated in so many arenas across the industry, it’s clear in some places we are discouraged and unwelcome."

If you don't have a STAT account, they give three articles a month. Or you can give them an email for limited free access. But if you have any issues and really want to see the article, comment below and I’ll help you out.

I’ll be writing more here soon about the article and some deeper aspects that matter a lot to me that didn’t fit in the word count.

It’s pretty cool they let a theater major do an article in First Opinion where they tout the “smartest thinkers in life sciences.” Can I put that on my resume now?

More on all this soon!

In the meantime, I’ve had a gnawing to write a goodbye to my old bed. It might seem silly at first, but it felt profoundly important to me.

I underestimated the value of that bed and the epic journey my life went on while sleeping there night after night.

Respect must be paid.

Objects have a life. They are starlight too, made of atoms and energy.

I survived in that bed. I made a life in that bed. And that bed gave back to me night after night in a way I’ll always be grateful for.

So an ode and goodbye to the place where my dreams were made.

But first, I want to thank a new founding level sponsor Dienna D’Olimpio Harada. I’m so grateful for your support. You’ve got a heart of gold and you, Gen, and Emi are so loved by our family. And my first Hawaii subscriber! Aloha!