Laurie Edwards

Teaching professor, Northeastern University

It is one part of a larger tension high-risk patients have seen amplified during COVID: the idea that some lives are simply more dispensable than others.

[The pandemic] isn’t over simply because we want it to be, and if we really want the situation to improve, the needs of the immunocompromised and high-risk patients cannot be an afterthought.

Masks are no longer mandated, but I hope you'll still wear one to protect people like me

An airline passenger rests while not wearing a face mask following the end of COVID-19 public transportation mask rules during a American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in California to Denver, Colorado on April 19, 2022. Mask mandates on public transportation are no longer in effect following a ruling by federal judge on April 18, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

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It may be “my” illness, but it is our collective effort that helps me lead a fuller life.

What Does Progress Mean For Rare Disease Patients? Coordinated Care

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Life

... children of all backgrounds benefit from seeing characters whose experiences are different from their own. 

Read Books With Your Children. The More Diverse The Better

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Books

... it was also easier for physicians to cast my very real physical symptoms as emotional, than to admit they didn’t know what was wrong or how to help me.

I had the benefit of corroborative and unambiguous test results; but it still didn’t matter.

The Pain Isn't In Your Head. And Other Truths Of The Female Experience

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[This is] about what happens when patients, particularly female patients, are not seen as reliable narrators of their illness.

When Hadid told her friends in this week’s episode that their skepticism was an insult to her integrity, her words rang true for chronic patients everywhere.

The Real Stigma Of Beverly Hills: Why The Controversy Over Yolonda's Illness Matters

Yolanda Hadid, right, and her daughter Bella attend the Global Lyme Alliance Inaugural Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015, in New York. (Evan Agostini/AP)

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For as personal and individual as it is, it is a decision people feel very little compunction about commenting on.

Without a doubt, we get the most questions from our daughter herself, whose campaign for siblings is ongoing and multifaceted...

One And Done: Yes, We 'Only' Had One Child — And That's OK

I know people mean well, but enough already with the only child shaming. (Tracy Rees/unsplash)

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family

Best Of Cog

Despite marked differences in diagnoses and circumstances, Betty’s struggle with disclosure resonates with me.

My daughter knows that even if she hears me cough or wheeze, I can still arrange play dates, take her to the park, and work at a job I enjoy -- I am not defined by symptoms or differences.

Betty's Bombshell: On Parenting, Illness And Disclosure

The "Mad Men" storyline brings up important questions about how and when to talk to children about a parent's chronic or terminal illness. 

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Media

...if we’re willing to be creative, take risks with assignment design and digital technology, and use different tools to engage with our virtual students, we can have relationships with them that are every bit as authentic as those we build with students in our 'real' classrooms.

My online students may read model projects, watch a brief video I created on an assignment, and then brainstorm revision challenges with me via Skype, but their 'aha' moments are no less of a breakthrough than the ones my students have when sitting across from my desk in office hours.

Forging Real Connections In Virtual Classrooms

In the best online courses, digital-age technology serves tried-and-true teaching goals, like fostering engagement with and among students. Pictured: Peter Struck, associate professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, prepares to record a lecture on Greek Mythology in Philadelphia. (Matt Slocum/ AP)

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Education

Justina Pelletier pictured here with parents Linda and Lou Pelletier. (Facebook) 

For as much as medical science can tell us, we also need to be willing to admit how much we still don’t know.

Justina Pelletier And The Complexity Of Rare Diseases

The main entrance of Children's Hospital is seen in Boston Thursday, Sept. 25, 2003. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Illness isn’t a free pass for incomplete work; it’s an extenuating circumstance that requires negotiation and mutual accountability.

For faculty, one of the most difficult challenges is to be accommodating while still maintaining the classroom’s integrity, and the integrity of the student’s education.

When It Comes To Chronic Illness, College Campuses Have A Lot To Learn

As more students enter higher education with chronic illness, a different kind of learning is required. (mischiru/flickr)

Laurie Edwards

Recently published

Masks are no longer mandated, but I hope you'll still wear one to protect people like me

Cognoscenti

What Does Progress Mean For Rare Disease Patients? Coordinated Care

Cognoscenti

Read Books With Your Children. The More Diverse The Better

Cognoscenti

The Pain Isn't In Your Head. And Other Truths Of The Female Experience

Cognoscenti

The Real Stigma Of Beverly Hills: Why The Controversy Over Yolonda's Illness Matters

Cognoscenti

One And Done: Yes, We 'Only' Had One Child — And That's OK

Cognoscenti

Betty's Bombshell: On Parenting, Illness And Disclosure

Cognoscenti

Forging Real Connections In Virtual Classrooms

Cognoscenti

Justina Pelletier And The Complexity Of Rare Diseases

Cognoscenti

When It Comes To Chronic Illness, College Campuses Have A Lot To Learn

Cognoscenti