MSI Press Blog

  Most people haven’t heard of CHARGE Syndrome (including doctors who say, "This is my first patient with CHARGE")— and that’s part of the challenge. CHARGE syndrome is a  rare genetic condition , affecting roughly  1 in 10,000 births . It’s complex, lifelong, and looks different for every person who has it. The name  CHARGE  comes from a pattern of medical features that can include differences in the  heart, hearing, vision, breathing, growth, balance, and development . Because CHARGE is so rare,  finding knowledgeable medical support can be incredibly hard  — especially for families living in  rural or remote areas . Many parents spend years educating doctors, coordinating dozens of specialists, and traveling long distances just to access basic care. Finding trained caregivers, therapists, or educators who truly understand CHARGE can feel nearly impossible. And CHARGE doesn’t end with childhood. Across a lifetime, individuals with CHARGE ma...

Most people haven’t heard of CHARGE Syndrome (including doctors who say, "This is my first patient with CHARGE")— and that’s part of the challenge. CHARGE syndrome is a rare genetic condition , affecting roughly 1 in 10,000 births . It’s complex, lifelong, and looks different for every person who has it. The name CHARGE comes from a pattern of medical features that can include differences in the heart, hearing, vision, breathing, growth, balance, and development . Because CHARGE is so rare, finding knowledgeable medical support can be incredibly hard — especially for families living in rural or remote areas . Many parents spend years educating doctors, coordinating dozens of specialists, and traveling long distances just to access basic care. Finding trained caregivers, therapists, or educators who truly understand CHARGE can feel nearly impossible. And CHARGE doesn’t end with childhood. Across a lifetime, individuals with CHARGE may face: Multiple surgeries and ong...

  Today, October 17, is a day that brings back memories. Every year.  On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m., the earth beneath Northern California gave a violent shudder. The Loma Prieta earthquake , registering a magnitude of 6.9, struck the Santa Cruz Mountains and rippled outward with devastating force. It collapsed sections of the Bay Bridge, pancaked a freeway in Oakland, and silenced the World Series mid-game. Sixty-three lives were lost, thousands injured, and entire neighborhoods reshaped in seconds. For many, it was a day of tragedy. For my family, it was also our first real “hello” from California. We had just moved west from Arlington, Virginia, where I’d been working for the U.S. Department of State. Our family was scattered across the Monterey Peninsula that afternoon—each of us about to learn what it meant to live on fault lines. I was at the Presidio of Monterey, mid-conversation with a calm, collected Army officer. He would later retire and become a lawyer, but...

  a happy Shenan (CB) lounging with a happy Murjan  March 1 and business taxes loom big: due the Ides of March. (Not a very perspicacious day....) So, I thought I would give myself a little extra time, not prepare a new column of my own making, and simply share a delightful youtube video by one of our authors, Joanna Charnas. She says, " Happy Cat, Happy Life! " An oldie, but goodie! Enjoy! For more Caturday posts, click HERE .   For more posts about Joanna and her award-winning books, click  HERE .    For book reviews, interviews, videos, and more, check out Joanna's title pages at the MSI Press website:  100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness,   A Movie Lover's Search for Romance ,  Living Well with Chronic Illness   and  Tips, Tools, and Anecdotes to Help during a Pandemic . To purchase copies of any MSI Press book at 25% discount, use code FF25 at  MSI Press webstore . Want to read an MSI Press book and not have to...