Some health battles don’t show up in a photo. Sam Cradduck knows that well. The weekend before her first lupus flare, she played eight softball games back-to-back in a tournament and never sat down. By Wednesday morning, she couldn’t walk to the bathroom. She spent the next year in a wheelchair before reaching a turning point. Her story anchors this episode of Aging Untold, a reminder that fatigue and pain from autoimmune disease are real even when they’re invisible.
Families also get practical guidance on feeding tube decisions. Dr. Rhea Rogers urges loved ones to clarify whether the goal is temporary recovery or comfort in a progressive illness, while aging expert Amy O’Rourke shares how her father-in-law lived seven years with a feeding tube and still went on cruises and danced with his wife. There’s also a report on Lumipulse, the first FDA-cleared blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s, offering a less invasive path than PET scans and spinal taps, plus the restoration of True Friends Hall, a Louisiana landmark that sheltered Black families and performers during segregation.
These stories touch nearly every household in our Gulf Coast communities, whether you’re managing a chronic condition, caring for a parent, or preserving local history. Have you or a loved one navigated an invisible illness or a feeding tube decision? We’d like to hear your story.
