Having Cystic Fibrosis Taught Me How to Communicate Boundaries
It’s 2012 and I’m in my second year of community college. My hair is down to my shoulders and I carry a bottle of hand sanitizer attached to my backpack, which gets used by…
Advocacy and Abnormality
— Kristin Entler
Kristin Entler was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 6 months old, and first came out as LGBT+ several years after her diabetes diagnosis at 12 years old. She currently serves as poetry editor for NELLE, as access coordinator for Open Mouth Literary Center, and lives with her service-dog, Azzie, whose name is short for the Greek god of medicine. Entler can be found on most social media platforms @findmycure. She hopes her column “Advocacy and Abnormality” is a space for inclusion and solidarity for anyone living in a body that is often seen or treated as different.
Featured Post
I graduated from my MFA program! Now what?
This past spring, before graduating from my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in creative writing, I had one last meeting with my adviser. We connected via Zoom as I sat on my back…
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I Want to Feel Comfortable Going to the Clinic Again
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve never met my current pulmonary care provider in person, and I keep putting off my face-to-face appointment. I moved from Alabama to Arkansas for graduate school in…
When Life Forces You to Pause, It’s Best Not to Argue
If I’m being completely honest — and when I started this column, that was one of my initial promises and intentions — I’ve been struggling lately. But complete honesty doesn’t automatically equal complete…
Turning Problems Into Solutions Requires Energy
A few weeks ago, I started writing about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director’s ableist comment, in which she claimed that masks are the “scarlet letter” of the pandemic.
Burnout, Bumps, and Bruises: Learning to Accept My Chronic Illnesses
I’m just going to come right out and say it: I don’t want to write about being chronically ill this week. Specifically, I don’t want to be chronically ill this week. I know…
Getting a Port Taught Me the Importance of Autonomy
At my pediatric pulmonologist’s office, an anatomical diagram of lungs in the silhouette of a child, complete with labeled cross-sections of bronchi and cilia, hung on the back of each clinic room’s door alongside…
Using the Past to Choose Hope for the Future
About 10 years ago, I interviewed my pulmonologist for a speech class I was taking. I asked him if he thought there’d ever be a cure for cystic fibrosis. He responded with an emphatic…
Coping Tips for the Tail End of a COVID-19 Winter
It doesn’t snow much here in my home state of Alabama. It’ll just get cold enough to shock the system with wildly fluctuating temperatures. It gets warm in February, and the flowers will think…
Person-first Language Doesn’t Always Matter
“Do people with cystic fibrosis really call themselves ‘CFers’?” a friend once asked. “Some do, some don’t.” I told her about the shorthand terms I’ve seen used in the community, such as…
It’s Not Inevitable That Everyone Will Get COVID-19
Every time I tune into the local or national news, I see another story claiming that everyone will either get or be exposed to COVID-19. And over the holiday break,…
Making Plans Amid an Uncertain Future
With the new year looming around the corner, and my school semester crawling to a close, I want to set my sights on all the things I’d like to do next year…
It’s Hard to Get Into the Spirit of the Holidays
This week, the university I both attend and teach at returns from Thanksgiving break, and I’m coming to terms with the realization that I’m afraid of the coming holiday season. This isn’t a new…
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