• I spent most of my adult life in cities before moving to a rural cabin for my husband's job.
• It was hard to adjust, and I had to confront many of my phobias before moving back home.
• Although I wouldn't choose to live in a cabin again, I'm grateful for what the experience taught me.

At the end of the summer, I packed my bags and two cats and got on a plane by myself, leaving our spacious home in Portland, Oregon, for a two-bedroom cabin in the remote woods of upstate New York.

I was planning to live there temporarily so I could spend some time with my husband, who had rented the place while he was working on a movie in the area. He had moved to the area a few weeks earlier to start work, and he would stay there until mid-November when the project wrapped.

His options for where to stay were limited: a room at a Best Western, or a quaint cottage with a wood-burning stove and brick flooring on a historic acreage with farm animals.

If I hadn't planned to come, he might have just chosen the hotel room, but he wanted a pet-friendly option with a little more space.

I saw staying in the cabin as a chance to slow down a bit after feeling work-related burnout — but I was nervous, too.

The cabin showed me what I took for granted at home

Immediately, there were some things I genuinely loved about rural living.

One of my favorite parts was the privacy. The cabin sat next to a creek and a grove of trees on a massive acreage at the foot of a mountain. It was part farm, part forest.

I rarely saw other people most days, and got plenty of work done. While at the cabin, I started working on the second draft of my novel while planning for my next full-time role.

However, it was also tough to adjust to rustic life. For most of my adult life, I'd lived in cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Portland.

Back home in Portland, I'd gotten used to our walkable neighborhood with incredible coffee shops just steps away, plus a slew of local wine bars, restaurants, and other small businesses easily accessible by bike.

Although there were a few charming spots in the general area, the surrounding town beyond the acreage was pretty lackluster, and we were living in a grocery-store desert. I was surprised by how little there really was to do, considering we were only about a two-hour drive from New York City.

Then there was the cottage itself. After living in a house with a dishwasher and an espresso machine, I had to get used to sputtering hot-water taps and Keurig coffee.

Still, none of these inconveniences was the end of the world, especially since I'd only be living here for one month. The biggest challenge, though, was confronting my obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Living near so many insects forced me to face my OCD

Rustic cabin living meant that there were bugs everywhere, pretty much all the time.

Moths, stinkbugs, crane flies the size of my palm, spiders, grasshoppers, and even crickets managed to sneak their way inside. Outside, I'd get swarmed by mosquitoes and gnats.

One night, I counted over two dozen sizable bugs that had somehow snuck into our cabin. Sometimes the bugs made me feel trapped because I couldn't fully escape them, no matter where I was.

This might be an annoying inconvenience for people used to suburban life or climates with fewer bugs, but for me — someone with OCD — it felt like a test from the universe.

Although every person with OCD can and will have completely different fears, obsessions, and compulsions, many of mine center on fears of germs, disease, or contamination.

For me, a fear of hurting myself or my pets due to something in the environment — for instance, ticks with Lyme disease — can trigger compulsive handwashing, body-checking, and a general sense of anxiety throughout the day. When these compulsions come into play, I often become less productive, more distracted, and late for everything.

The presence of so many bugs, plus corners layered with dust and cobwebs, triggered my fears of contamination and heightened my anxiety. Early on, I was even afraid of walking on the grass outside, since upstate New York has many more reported cases of Lyme disease than in Oregon, my home base.

I was also concerned that my spouse, while working on location in the woods or other areas, might bring ticks home on his clothes, transmit them to me, or fall ill from a bite.

Being exposed to my fears eventually helped them fade

Despite all of this, about a week in, I started to settle into cabin life a bit.

My fears were there, but nothing bad happened. The bugs didn't go away, but they didn't get us sick. The cats were happy. At one point, I walked across the grass to go see the goats on the property, and I didn't get any ticks.

It might sound silly, but for me, this was a bit of a breakthrough.

I love animals, nature, and traveling the world, but the intense, intrusive thoughts that OCD brings can make it difficult to enjoy a new adventure without a constant baseline feeling of anxiety.

The best part about living in this rural landscape was being able to see and get close to so many animals. On the property, there were free-range chickens and geese, plus wild turkeys, foxes, deer, and tons of blue jays.

And there was this squad of hilarious goats, sheep, and a cow. With time, I was able to enjoy the experience.

Spending a month in upstate New York isn't something I'd do again, and after a month at the cottage, I was excited to return to our spacious house and walkable neighborhood. But I'm grateful for the experience that allowed me to try out a new lifestyle, challenge my OCD, and come out stronger.

Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius once said, "If thou art pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs thee, but thy own judgment about it."

If there is one thing my sons and I learned from my late wife Kim's fight against cancer, it was how to distinguish between traumatic life events over which we have no control and the power we have to respond to them as we choose.

A few weeks ago, my sons and I watched "White Room," a short introspective film directed by JT Rees. The film tells the story of 24-year-old Reese, who has tried for years to avoid dealing with his feelings over his older sister Joy's death. But grief has a way of lingering in our hearts while gnawing away at our inner peace. The movie is about sibling love and coming to terms with the loss of Reese’s older sister.

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"White Room" is based on JT's own life experience. When he was 9 years old, he lost his 12-year-old sister Jessie to brain cancer.

My sons and I never met Jessie Rees, but we have bonded deeply with her family over shared grief from losing loved ones to cancer. And for years, we've been soothing our broken hearts by partnering with the Jessie Rees Foundation to support kids in the fight for their lives against pediatric cancer.

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We were always a close-knit family, but now it was the three of us, whom my late wife Kim lovingly called "my boys," facing the post-traumatic stress Kim's fight against cancer had left in its wake. That's why we identified so profoundly with JT's alter ego and protagonist Reese when Joy showed him how to process his sorrow by understanding it was not his fault.

"I had cancer!" Joy screams. She comforts Reese and exhorts him never to give up. "It's OK to cry," Joy says. "I'll always be right here watching you. You know where to find me."

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Joy encourages Reese to "Live your life. Promise me you'll try." Grief can paralyze us. But even if we have no control over the disease that took our loved one's life, we absolutely can make our own decisions about what to do about it.

I honor Kim's memory by fulfilling the promise I made to her on her deathbed to do my best to ensure our sons live their lives to the fullest while carrying with them the grief of losing their mom to cancer when they were only 8 and 11 years old.

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And so, on the day after their mom passed away, my sons went to school just as they had throughout Kim's fight against cancer, including her last few months in hospice. They expressed their sorrow with the help of a service dog and art therapy. They went to swim practice and played outside with their friends. They've never stopped doing the things that make kids' lives fun and meaningful.

Long before my wife was stricken with cancer, I learned that lesson about resilience while serving overseas with the CIA in a Middle East war zone. Upon returning late one night to our overseas field station from leave, I was informed at the airport that one of the CIA's most decorated, courageous and brilliant paramilitary officers had been killed in action. We held a memorial service and never stopped carrying in our hearts the grief over our loss. But we also got right back to our counterterrorism mission and honored our fallen colleague's memory by relentlessly taking the fight to the enemy as he would have wanted.

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And therein lies the meaning of the CIA's Memorial Wall in the lobby of the Original Headquarters Building. Every time I walked into CIA Headquarters, I would look up at the stars on the wall commemorating our fallen heroes and repeat the same ritual when I departed at the end of the day, always deep in thought about honoring the legacy of those we lost.

"White Room" is a must-see film, especially for anyone who has experienced loss over which they never had any control and suffered all the collateral damage.

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My sons and I miss our Kim every day. But together we have learned how to discover and build resilience in our broken hearts.

Do the work. Stay engaged. Don't run from your sadness. But let your grief shape how you honor the memory of the one you lost.

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And remember you're not alone. Your loved one is with you, an angel on your shoulders.

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People diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face a roughly 71% higher overall risk of early death compared to those without the condition, according to a new review published in JAMA Network Open.

However, taking prescription ADHD medication may offer a protective benefit, lowering overall risk of death, the review found.

Researchers analyzed data from 19 observational studies involving nearly 16 million people across three continents to evaluate the long-term effects associated with the condition.

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The review considered both unnatural causes of death, such as injuries and suicide, and natural causes, including physical health conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Across all categories, individuals with ADHD experienced elevated mortality rates compared to those without the diagnosis.

"We found that people with ADHD face an increased risk not only of death by suicide and injury, but also of deaths by natural causes, adding to evidence that health inequalities faced by people with ADHD are broad and wide-ranging," senior author Joshua Stott, professor of aging and clinical psychology at University College London (UCL), said in a press release.

The risk of death from suicide was nearly doubled, showing an 89% increase, while the risk of dying from intentional or unintentional injuries, such as motor vehicle accidents, was 55% higher, the study found.

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There was also a 27% higher risk of death from natural causes among people with ADHD.

The increased risk of death from natural causes was often tied to long-term health risks like smoking and substance use, as well as executive function challenges that can make it harder to manage chronic conditions, attend doctor’s appointments and follow treatment plans.

In one analysis, researchers checked whether medical treatment changed overall mortality rates.

Among people with ADHD, those taking prescribed ADHD medication had a 25% lower risk of death from any cause compared to those not taking medication, suggesting that effective treatment may lower some of the behavioral effects and health risks associated with the condition.

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"ADHD is not by definition a life-limiting condition, as the right support and treatment can help people live long and healthy lives," Stott said.

"Our findings underscore the importance of ensuring that everyone who may have ADHD has access to accurate diagnosis and treatment."

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Despite these findings, the researchers emphasized several key limitations.

All included studies were observational, meaning the results show associations rather than direct cause-and-effect relationships.

The findings on ADHD medication came from just three of the 19 studies, so those results are still preliminary and based on a much smaller group of people.

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Results also varied widely across individual studies due to differences in diagnostic criteria, healthcare access and tracking methods, while underlying factors such as socioeconomic status and other mental health conditions were not controlled across data sets.

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"Our findings provide early evidence to suggest that medication may play an important role in supporting the health of people with ADHD, but this is based on a small number of studies and further research is needed to clarify this link," first author Lucy Corrigan, a research assistant in the University of Liverpool’s Department of Psychology, said in the same press release.

"Medication is just part of the story; many people with ADHD benefit from comprehensive, long-term treatment and support."

A Canadian man battling a debilitating neurological disease told Fox News Digital that hospital staff repeatedly raised the possibility of medically assisted death while he was fighting for the home care he says he needs to survive.

Roger Foley, who has spinocerebellar ataxia, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that the conversations began in 2016 at Victoria Hospital, part of the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario, where he says he has remained hospitalized for years while seeking a self-directed home-care arrangement.

In a July 7, 2026, letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Foley's attending physician said he could safely leave the hospital if the Ontario government authorized an individualized home-care arrangement.

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"By any reasonable clinical standard, you could be discharged from our hospital if you had adequate support at home," wrote Dr. George K. Dresser, an attending internal medicine physician at London Health Sciences Centre.

Dresser said Foley has been medically stable for much of his prolonged hospitalization, despite suffering hospital-acquired infections, and argued that conventional home-care programs have failed to accommodate his complex medical needs.

"You have been at London Health Sciences Centre because the unique needs that you have cannot be met by existing programs in the community," the physician wrote.

Dresser described Foley as "a square peg in a round hole," arguing that the hospital's standardized approach to care is poorly suited to a patient who requires consistent caregivers and highly individualized assistance.

The physician also suggested that keeping Foley hospitalized may be unnecessarily expensive for Ontario's healthcare system.

"A community-based, self-directed arrangement would in all likelihood cost substantially less than continued acute admission, while delivering far better-matched care," Dresser wrote.

He urged Ontario's Ministry of Health to authorize funding that would allow Foley to recruit, train and manage his own personal support workers, potentially ending his yearslong hospitalization.

Foley alleged that assisted dying was raised again during a disputed discharge process in 2017, when he says he was threatened with daily hospital charges of approximately $1,500 if he did not accept the care arrangements being offered.

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"I don't want to die," Foley told Fox News Digital, describing his determination to return to his apartment with caregivers of his choosing.

Foley also alleged that the hospital removed lighting accommodations for his neurological condition in May 2025, making it difficult for him to receive care and consume food and fluids.

Foley said the lighting dispute is particularly serious because his neurological condition makes him sensitive to certain wavelengths of light, including those emitted by fluorescent fixtures.

For years, he said, the hospital accommodated his condition with amber-spectrum lighting that allowed caregivers to assist him without triggering his symptoms.

But in May 2025, Foley alleged the hospital withdrew those accommodations and began requiring staff to provide care under fluorescent lighting.

He claimed the change has made it increasingly difficult to receive routine assistance, including help with eating and drinking, because he must wear large, heavy protective goggles that place additional strain on his already compromised neck.

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Foley said he has sometimes relied on personal support workers from outside the hospital to help him consume fluids and that financial limitations have prevented him from arranging enough outside assistance to meet all his needs.

He further alleged that some hospital employees have been instructed not to provide care unless fluorescent lights are turned on, even though he says other staff members have been able to assist him using the amber lighting without difficulty.

Foley also claimed hospital personnel began asking him questions about suicidal thoughts again around the time his lighting accommodations were withdrawn. Unlike his earlier experiences, he said he refused to engage in those conversations because he no longer trusted the hospital's intentions.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

He said he does not refuse to discuss his mental health in general, and is not opposed to mental health assessments or receiving appropriate mental health support. However, he said previous experiences with hospital staff have made him wary of engaging in such discussions, especially because he said medical assistance in dying (MAID) had previously been raised as an option.

The allegations mark the latest chapter in what Foley described as a nearly decade-long struggle to obtain the kind of care that would allow him to leave the hospital and return to his own home.

Despite his prolonged hospitalization, Foley said he has never given up his apartment, which he described as accessible and equipped with a ceiling lift to assist with his mobility needs.

"I have my own apartment. I still pay all my bills," he told Fox News Digital.

"The last 10 years I haven't given up my apartment and I have wonderful community [personal support workers] that are ready to start working for me as soon as I get the self-directed funding," Foley said.

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Self-directed funding primarily refers to the Direct Funding (DF) Program for adults with physical disabilities and Family-Managed Home Care for broader home care services.

Under such a model, Foley explained, patients with disabilities would have greater control over choosing and managing their caregivers rather than relying exclusively on agencies selected through the provincial home-care system.

Foley argued that this would provide more consistent and safer care, particularly for patients with complex medical needs who require caregivers familiar with their individual conditions.

He said his physicians have supported his efforts to obtain alternative home-care arrangements, but he has been unable to secure the funding necessary to put his plan into action.

Foley said that the existing system has left him caught between remaining hospitalized indefinitely and accepting community-care arrangements he believes would place his health at risk.

"I'm not giving up," he said. "I don't want to die, my daughters know I don't want to die, my physicians have always been very explicit and direct that it's not safe to put me in that type of close model that I need direct funding."

In the letter from Dresser, Foley's attending physician, he writes in part, "I am therefore advocating that the Ministry to consider authorizing an individualized, self-directed funding arrangement that would enable you to be discharged from acute care and to arrange and direct your own care in the community. I am very willing to meet with Ministry staff, to provide whatever clinical documentation is required, and to work collaboratively on the design and safeguards of such an arrangement."

Before his illness progressed, Foley said he had built a career in banking, worked as a television host and comedian, and even trained as a professional wrestler.

He described earning recognition for his work before his deteriorating health eventually forced him to leave his career and go on long-term disability.

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But Foley said he has continued looking for ways to contribute to society despite his physical limitations.

He is now involved with a project called "Bring Roger Home," which he said is working with a nonprofit organization to raise money for the care he needs to return to his community.

The effort also includes releasing music he recorded years earlier, with proceeds intended to support his home-care needs and eventually help other people facing similar circumstances.

One of the songs, "Limitless with Limitations," reflects the philosophy he said helped him come to terms with his condition.

"Just because you're not the person that you were doesn't mean that the person you are can't be limitless and achieve positive things and goals," Foley said.

He also urged people living with disabilities or chronic illnesses not to lose hope, even when their medical circumstances become overwhelming.

"Don't give up who you are at your core and believe in yourself," he said.

Foley said his ultimate goal remains unchanged: to return home, reconnect with family and friends, and live as independently as his condition allows.

His experience has also shaped his opposition to Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) system, which he argues cannot be adequately safeguarded when patients face serious gaps in medical care and social support.

According to the BBC, Canada’s MAID law, which legalized euthanasia in 2016, is responsible for one in every 20 deaths in Canada.

Foley contended that patients should have meaningful access to treatment, disability assistance and home-care alternatives before assisted death is considered.

For him, the central issue is not whether he has the ability to end his life, but whether he can obtain the assistance necessary to continue living it.

"Even in the darkest times," Foley said, "you can still find a light at the end of the tunnel to go towards."

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Fox News Digital reached out to London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), which operates Victoria Hospital, Ontario Health atHome, the Ontario Ministry of Health, and Dresser, Foley’s physician, for comment but did not immediately receive responses. 

Cheshire Independent Living Services declined to comment.