Chronically Yours
— Noura Costany

I’m terrible at asking for help. It’s important to me to prove that I can handle anything, despite my disability with Cushing’s disease. I have high expectations for myself and big goals I’m striving to achieve, and I don’t want to rely on anyone else to reach them. But…

My pregnancy is both high risk and low risk, which can be a bit confusing to explain. Because of my Cushing’s disease and polycystic ovary syndrome, my partner and I decided to pursue in vitro fertilization (IVF). I’m currently 16 weeks pregnant, and while my pregnancy has been going…

Recently, an image depicting a “disability hierarchy” has gone viral on social media, sparking controversy within the disability community. The pyramid has three levels that seem to indicate the severity of one’s disability: Wheelchair users are at the top, people with limb differences and other visible disabilities are in…

I have Cushing’s disease, so I always travel with a mask. That’s because whenever I’ve gotten sick with something like COVID-19 or norovirus, it’s taken me out for weeks and posed great risk to my health. Even a common cold has landed me in bed for several days. That…

I’ve previously written about the spoon theory, which posits that different tasks require a certain amount of energy, or number of “spoons,” to complete. Those of us with chronic illness have a limited number of spoons each day, and tasks cost us more spoons than they cost a healthy…

Last week, I announced that my partner and I are expecting our first child in February. We couldn’t be more excited about this development and are pumped to become supercool parents next year. After struggling through in vitro fertilization, we’re grateful we’ve made it this far and hope our…

You might’ve guessed it from my recent columns about parenthood, my limited posting on social media, or these headlines, but surprise, I’m pregnant! I had a frozen embryo transfer on June 4 and found out I was pregnant four days later. We wanted to keep it a secret…

The 1998 film “Sliding Doors” (spoiler alert) follows a woman, Helen, in two split timelines. In one, she catches her train home, finds her boyfriend cheating, starts her own business, and falls in love. In the other, she misses the train and, for a while, her life is…

When I’ve noted publicly that my husband and I are going through the process of in vitro fertilization, I’ve received a lot more backlash than expected. Some said they’d never try this hard to have a kid, while others mentioned that perhaps we shouldn’t bring children into this troubled world.

Moving to Michigan from New York with a chronic illness has been incredibly stressful. While I’m excited to have a house and be able to move around more freely, there have been lots of complications. Unpacking is exhausting, and it’s hard to feel unsettled and start over with a new…

Pride can be confusing for me. Yes, of course, I’m proud of my advocacy work. I’m proud of what my disability and my Cushing’s disease have led me to be. But as Disability Pride Month, celebrated in July, approached this year, I found myself feeling disconnected. Right now,…

I’m a huge believer in listening to my body’s cues. Whether I’m hungry, tired, thirsty, or bored, I love to hear my body out and give it what it needs. However, it’s not always that simple. While I want to trust my body, Cushing’s disease can wreak havoc, resulting…