How humor helps songster Carla Ulbrich heal herself and others

She’s the Singing Patient, and oh, does she have a song for you.

Whether it’s an ode to Prednisone, a send-up about spending hours in a waiting room, or a reading from her book, How can you not laugh at a time like this, singer/songwriter Carla Ulbrich knows how to make you smile.

Such boundless good cheer is a surprise from someone who has battled lupus since the early 90s, and that’s what Carla Ulbrich and Susan Rich talked about on internet radio’s Rich and Gluten-Free.

“I’ve learned to take my health more seriously and myself less seriously,” she says, summing up years of illness that lead to kidney failure one time, stroke another.

Carla has always had a funny bone, but was shy about performing. After her first brush with death, she decided that stage fright was no big deal. After her second, she dubbed herself the Singing Patient, and started writing witty songs about dealing with chronic illness. These have earned her a national reputation as a comedienne. More than that, her madcap lyrics make people feel better.

“I’m a professional smart aleck,” she says.

Gluten-free eating eases symptoms

Lupus is an auto-immune disease, and treatment varies depending on symptoms and how severe the condition is itself. For Carla, avoiding gluten, dairy, and sugar makes a huge difference in how she feels.

As most of us know, this is not an easy transition to make. And for Carla, whose cooking skills are so poor she uses her smoke alarm as a timer, it has been a challenge. “Thank God for Amy’s frozen foods,” she says. Her technique: Buy the processed goods and then make her own. It takes a few tries of “taste, make, taste.” but eventually she concocts something that tastes almost as good.

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Rich & Gluten-Free, with your host, journalist-blogger Susan Rich, airs 11 am ET every Tuesday morning on internet radio station w4wn.com

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