Darla Nagel
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Lightening the Shadow

Why February 24 Was a Memorable Day for Me

2/26/2025

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February 24 was relevant for both patients with ME/CFS and for people interested in reading a word-focused book by me. It was a memorable day for me.

I found and watched a compassionate and informative video about the genuine disease ME/CFS and the genuine harm exercise can do to patients. Thanks, SciShow! I also read in Our Daily Bread a devotion by a patient with ME/CFS. Thanks, Hedina! I uploaded epub files for processing for my third book, The Fun Guide to Tricky Word Pairs in English.

For those of you reading today, thank you for reading, and I hope you find something on my website that lightens whatever burden you're carrying.

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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If You Dislike the Name "Long COVID," Kindly Propose Another Name for the Benefit of Patients

5/1/2024

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If you're going to cast people with long COVID in a negative light, don't do it on a day set aside for its awareness and advocacy, and propose a name that is better than its current one...if you even can. I have a postviral chronic illness. Research for postviral illnesses is needed, but the potentially flawed research criticized in this article is not meeting that need. https://theconversation.com/why-scrapping-the-term-long-covid-would-be-harmful-for-people-with-the-condition-225880

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Find Lightening the Shadow on Bookshop.org and Support Independent Bookstores

9/25/2023

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My book, Lightening the Shadow, is available on Bookshop.org, an online bookseller giving a portion of proceeds to independent bookstores. I'm a fan of indie bookstores, and I'd appreciate having my own fans support them as well. Go review or buy here. Thanks!

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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An Option for Infertility: Embryo Adoption

9/13/2023

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Many couples decide adoption is not what they desire or can afford. But what if there were a way to adopt and still experience pregnancy and newborn care, plus save an innocent life from destruction? There is: embryo adoption.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) can generate more embryos than a couple is willing to carry. We’re up to over a million tiny babies on ice. Organizations work to match couples who are willing to adopt other couples’ embryos.

It’s a beautiful solution, one worth promoting.

It’s a solution I’ll mention in my upcoming novel.

It’s a solution I pray God blesses. 


Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla[dot]nagel[a]gmail.com.
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Giving Up on Acne Creams: Did I Ever Need Them?

7/25/2023

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I threw away my benzoyl peroxide acne cream a couple of weeks ago, and so far, I see no difference in the amount or type of zits on my face, back, and chest. I didn't have bad acne as a teen, but I did, suddenly, in my twenties. Maybe all the acne creams, and diet changes, I tried this past decade were a waste of time, as someone with a systemic chronic illness affecting immunity. But as a young woman in a country highly valuing beauty, I felt pressure to keep trying. 

Now, I say if you want to leave your acne alone, leave it alone. If it's part of you, be you. Don't waste money, energy, and time changing something if it can't be changed.

That's the gist, but if you're curious about my late-onset acne, here's how it started, as recorded in my book:

I faced a challenge to my more positive attitude when a new symptom began in June. At first, I thought it was a rash on my face. But as it emerged on my chest, upper arms, neck, and back, I examined it, discovering it was acne, the worst acne I’d ever had. Each new spot took about a month to fade. I tried several over-the-counter creams and diluted tea tree oil, a natural remedy I’d found online, but none worked. Suddenly, I looked fifteen instead of twenty-one. I’d always been thankful that my illness hadn’t affected my appearance or made people stare at me. Now my appearance had changed so much that for the first time, I wanted to wear makeup be­sides lip gloss and was embarrassed to be seen in a swimsuit.



Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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How ME/CFS and Long COVID Start: Possible First Signs

5/11/2023

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The Friday before Mother’s Day 14 years ago, I felt like I was coming down with something. A week later, as I wrote in my book:
I don’t feel tired; I feel stunned on the ground from body slamming a brick wall. I feel fifty years older. I feel unplugged in the dark. 
That’s how I felt while combing my hair in the YMCA locker room after one of my hour-long swims. What I actually thought was Maybe this is more than a cold. I’m whipped, and my legs are sore, even though I didn’t swim as hard today. Usually, swimming made me feel calm and strong, without causing sweating, even after the two-hour practices I’d done on my high school swim team….But I’d had this cold, which was mild except for utter exhaustion that made me not want to do anything involving physical or cognitive effort…. I didn’t learn my diagnosis until two years and five months had passed and my condition had worsened. Two years represented a tenth of my life. Falling ill at age nineteen was like having my wings chopped off just as I was taking flight. Maybe the timing would’ve been worse if they had been chopped when I was hundreds of feet in the air, a year into a career in a city far from my parents. But I would’ve liked to soar through the air.

If that sounds like the start of a story about long COVID, you’re partially right. Long COVID and ME/CFS have much in common, chiefly, an overwhelming and flawed bodily response to a virus. ME/CFS is just as real and just as detrimental.

Even after 14 years, some people don’t know what ME/CFS is and don’t know that I’ve written a book that is meant to help young people living with any invisible chronic illness. Don’t spend another 14 years in the dark. Read my book for a personal lesson, or see the Resources section for online information.

The cover of Darla Nagel's memoir, Lightening the Shadow, shows in black and white a young woman wrapped in a blanket in shadow looking out a window
The cover of my memoir, Lightening the Shadow

​Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to help other patients and enlighten health care professionals about our experiences. If you’d like to receive quarterly updates from her, sign up by emailing darla.nagel {a} gmail.com.
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Veggies Are a Win for Health and the Environment

3/11/2023

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A quick guide to the benefits of a plant-based diet or vegan diet for health, for the environment, and even for your grocery budget can be found in Natural Awakenings. Click here to read "Veggies for the Win."

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla{dot}nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Infertility Is Disabling. IVF Is Exhausting.

2/28/2023

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​I used to think inability to reproduce naturally didn’t constitute a physical disability. Now I think infertility is a physical and emotional disability for both husband and wife. It carries a high emotional and financial toll with so many uncontrollable factors. I never thought IVF would take place in my Christian family, but now it has, with all of its hurdles and doctors and needles. The couple within my family is now at the second-to-last hurdle: a “lining check” to see whether embryo implantation should be attempted. I am praying for the best outcome for this couple and their “snowflake babies.” Join me in this prayer and in appreciation of the gift of life from our Creator.
A small daisy grows from the middle of cracked, gray/brown land
Photo: Hernan Pinera, Flickr Creative Commons

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla{dot}nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Where Will I Be in Five Years? Reflection 10 Years after Graduation

12/15/2022

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I graduated from college 10 years ago and was so ill that the first thing I did upon arriving home was go to bed. In fact, that is the last memory I have of that month, other than receiving a diploma frame for Christmas. I was so broke—but free of student loan debt—that I had $100 in my checking account and a desperation to find work. I wondered whether I’d have any pleasant memories of college or only remember the drudgery. I’m much healthier, much wealthier, and much happier now. I’m asking what’s next for me.

In the next five years, I intend to make four music videos, take three graduate-level courses in nutrition and the business of publishing, expand two pages on MEpedia, and write one book. My ambition is back, and my health is just about there. I’m not letting my education go to waste. I’m moving forward, yet I’ll keep a presence back here to support my readers. I want the best for your health and future, too!    
Golden light-up star on dark background with blurred Christmas lights
Photo: Desiree Fawn, Flickr Creative Commons

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Subtitles Are a Step Toward Accessibility Online

10/11/2022

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For the first time, I edited subtitles on a company YouTube video to better reflect what the speaker and interviewer said. I've wanted to make my company's content more accessible for some time, and it was easy to learn how to use YouTube's subtitle editor tool. One video down, about 160 more to go. Some of the speakers are going to have heavy accents or discuss specific scientific terminology, meaning auto-generated subtitles won't be sufficient. I'm excited to make each subtitle accessible for people who prefer captioned videos. 

In the past month, I also educated a local publisher on what alt text is and is for. Alt text is not something my company is adding to content, but for companies with the human and technology resources to add it, alt text is another important accessibility action item.

If my own website is missing some accessibility feature, please let me know in a comment!

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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    Author:
    ​Darla Nagel

    Darla copyedits biomedical research while living with an invisible chronic illness in mid-Michigan. Though "mom" only to a border terrier, she loves being with children. She has a big appetite for chocolate despite being a health nut.

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