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Dear Annie: A 44-year friendship at risk over $4

Dear Annie: I have had a close friend for 44 years. We have been through marriages, children, illnesses, holidays, losses and all the ordinary ups and downs that come with a friendship that lasts nearly half a century. That is why something very small has hurt me more than I expected. Recently, I was very ill for three weeks with vomiting, then bronchitis, and I ended up in the hospital over Easter. Because I was still recovering, I asked this longtime friend if she would pick up a box of tea for me. It cost $4. A few days later, we met at bingo, and she brought me the tea. I thought ...

Giving an overview of ultrasonography with IV imaging

DEAR DR. ROACH: My primary care physician scheduled me for a cardio stress test and ultrasonography with intravenous “microsphere” imaging. I’m slightly concerned about the term “microsphere.” Is this a safe procedure? Are there any complications stemming from this chemical/procedure? Should I be concerned about a stroke? How long do these microspheres stay in the body? Do they become a part of plaque? Are there other safer imaging methods? — K.O.S. ANSWER: Intravenous microbubble contrast agents are made from compressed gas that is contained in a phospholipid or protein, ...

No matter how many props nurses get, they deserve a little more

My son came home from school the other day and announced that the two most underappreciated occupations were teachers and nurses. During National Nurses Week, he had heard that, he told me, from his teacher. And though her bias might have tinged the first part of her claim (frankly, I think one of the most underappreciated occupations has to be “person who cleans the bathrooms at O’Hare Airport”), it certainly got me thinking about the nurses I’ve known. Immediately, I remembered the nurses at the NICU when my own two preemies were boarded there, unflappable in the face of my ...

What makes a good teacher? Ask a Republican and a Democrat, and they are likely to agree

If you follow the headlines, it can seem like K-12 schools in the United States are a political battlefield. Some conservative parents and advocacy groups are lobbying to remove certain books from classrooms and libraries, most often those that highlight LGBTQ+ issues or race and racism. Some civil liberties groups, librarians and progressive parents, meanwhile, are pushing back against book bans, saying they are a form of unnecessary censorship. Parents and school boards also are clashing over a range of other issues, ranging from how transgender and nonbinary students are treated ...

Feeling hurt by family betrayal

Dear Annie: My sister moved in with our parents in the family home. After my mother sadly passed away, my father and sister continued living there together. Over time, my sister seemed to take over the running of the household. She even had the telephone disconnected, and there were other decisions made that left me feeling increasingly shut out. My sister and I have never been close. Her life was often a burden on my mother, but my mother always stayed loyal to her and protected her. Later, when my father moved into a nursing home, he allowed my sister to sell the family home for her ...

Positive HPV test sparks panic due to a lack of explanation

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 61-year-old retired African-American woman. This past week, I just had a Pap smear (I hadn’t had one since 2021) and was told that it was positive for human papillomavirus (HPV). I’m upset because I was celibate from 2021-2024, and then in January 2024, I got married to my current husband, who lives in Africa. I was there for a week, and we honeymooned and consummated our marriage. I came back home and have since been monogamous. This week, I found out that I have HPV. What can I do? Will the vaccine help? I’ll be going back to Africa later this year to be ...