MSI Press Blog

  Today's daily excerpt comes from  How to Be a Good Mommy When You're Sick  by Emily Graves. Introduction: My Story   When women with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) get pregnant, their RA goes into remission. At least, that’s what my doctor told my husband, Robert, and me when we went in to discuss the possibility of having a baby. At that time, we both were professors with busy careers. I was 28, and according to my doctors, my RA was on “cruise control”. Thus, we were given a big “thumbs up” from the medical community to get pregnant. I would not trade our son for the world, but, boy, were they wrong! There was no remission for me, not unless remission means running head first into kidney failure and an abrupt pause in my career. After many months of discussions with baffled doctors, biopsies, and blood tests, I was diagnosed with Essential Mixed Cryoglobulinemia Type II—a complication of my RA that was causing kidney failure. I was officially the complicated, rare cas...

Introduction: My Story When women with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) get pregnant, their RA goes into remission. At least, that’s what my doctor told my husband, Robert, and me when we went in to discuss the possibility of having a baby. At that time, we both were professors with busy careers. I was 28, and, according to my doctors, my RA was on “cruise control.” Thus, we were given a big “thumbs up” from the medical community to get pregnant. I would not trade our son for the world, but, boy, were they wrong! There was no remission for me, not unless remission means running head first into kidney failure and an abrupt pause in my career. After many months of discussions with baffled doctors, biopsies, and blood tests, I was diagnosed with Essential Mixed Cryoglobulinemia Type II—a complication of my RA that was causing kidney failure. I was officially the complicated, rare case “only found in medical journals.” In other words, my bewildered doctors and nurses all but labeled ...

As school starts again, here are some great books for parents. All are available from online sellers, through local retailers, and at discount (code FF25 for 25% discount) from the MSI Press webstore. Want to read some excerpts first? Here you go: 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley & Trombly): #11 Thinking Out Loud   Enthusiasm is contagious. Start an epidemic.  ~Unknown Did you know that talking to yourself not only helps you organize your thoughts but also helps your child? When you are working through a problem, make it a point to say what you are thinking out loud. Look for opportunities to do this. For example: "I need to make 100 cupcakes for the bake sale. If each muffin tin makes 12 cupcakes and I have 2 muffin tins I can make 24 at a time. So, let’s see… how many batches will I need to bake? I will divide 100 by 24…." Your child will realize that adults, like children, must go through a series of steps to conquer a problem. If you're e...

Today's daily excerpt comes from  How to Be a Good Mommy When You're Sick  by Emily Graves. The Foundational Five   As a mother, wife, and professional living with chronic illness, I have learned that there is nothing more important than having a solid foundation root and guide me through the thickets and meadows, the monsoons and the sunny days that dot my calendar. Both good days and bad days can pose challenges when you are living with chronic illness. I suppose no explanation is needed as to why the bad days—the days when my stomach is turning itself inside out, fatigue burrows deep into my bones, and my abdomen is swelling like a helium balloon—pose challenges. Without a solid foundation, though, the good days can quickly become bad days because I am apt to revel so much in my personal sunshine that I get burned. Having a solid foundation reminds me to take care of the basics and to keep the big picture in mind. They say that the unexamined life is not worth li...