Ben Welch knows that he came close to death. And every time the 13-year-old Seffner boy runs a fever or gets a scratch, his family recalls the nearly two-year ordeal that cut short his soccer career and almost cut short his life. ...more

October 8, 2008

He didn't care that his illness's official name was methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or that it is more commonly known as a superbug staph infection. ...more

November 14, 2007

I occasionally ponder which organ will fail first, and it's nice to know I could catch a break: Fate might spin its bony finger and land on — lucky me — my gallbladder! Not that doctors are suggesting people have it cut out with their next tummy tuck, but it seems the gallbladder, like the hand crank on a Ford, once served a more purposeful existence than it does now. ...more

September 27, 2007