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…
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
CF life expectancy looks a little different now that I’m 30
A few weeks ago, in a remote corner of North Carolina, I turned 30. My parents and I were staying in a rental cabin surrounded by towering tulip poplars and majestic oaks. Situated in…
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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…
The Pros and Cons of Disclosing My Disability
I don’t remember why I said what I said to the little girl I had just met on the playground. “I have something called cystic fibrosis.” Maybe I was coughing or short of breath.
My Disabilities Grant Me Accommodations, but Give Me Guilt
While the world could be more accommodating to people with disabilities, I’ll admit I feel guilty that I’m allowed to register for my college classes 48 hours before my nondisabled peers. This priority…
I’m Learning to Accept My Body’s Sleep Cycle
“Do all my friends hate me? Or do I just need to get some sleep?” Stand-up comedian John Mulaney’s punchline cuts through the hum of nearby tree frogs. The light from the TV casts…
Returning to the Clinic Means Lung Test Anxiety Again
Through the sliding glass doors and down the stairs of the medical plaza, the midday news played — muted, but with captions running — on the TV mounted across from the reception desk. The…
Trusting a Future Where I Do More Than Just Survive
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced two years ago it had approved Trikafta (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor) for some cystic fibrosis (CF) patients 12 and older, I carried what I considered to be a…
Questioning the Psychology of Need
Three days before my first semester away from home, I sat in a sea foam green chair straight out of the 1990s. I was 20, six months shy of graduating to my city’s adult…
The Pandemic Has Shown Us That Accessibility Isn’t Impossible
The first time I had to drop out of school, I was in sixth grade. I had just been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes. My family and I decided we didn’t feel safe navigating…
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