BNS Staff, writers and editors —

Photo courtesy of Alice Waters Day 15 of 31 This is Alice Waters’ story: Cystic fibrosis is one of those big, scary medical terms you grow up hearing about, but if you’re like me, you never knew what it was. That is, until I became…

Photo courtesy of Jessica Francis Day 14 of 31 This is Jessica Francis’ story: Eight years ago, I knew almost nothing about cystic fibrosis. When I joined the CF clinical research team at the University of Utah in July 2013, I had no idea that…

Photo courtesy of Jenny Livingston Day 13 of 31 This is Randy Hanks’s story: When I was young, I watched my mother pass away from a respiratory illness. I was crushed and vowed to never put myself in a position where I’d potentially lose someone…

Photo courtesy of Julia Mahoney Day 12 of 31 This is Julia Mahoney’s story: Bombs. That’s what CF means to me. I was in sheer denial, wasting away, sitting at 18% lung function. I needed new lungs and it didn’t resonate with me. …

Photo courtesy of Kirsten Decembrino Day 11 of 31 This is Kirsten Decembrino’s story: This is Tripp.  When he was 10 days old, we received the news that he has cystic fibrosis. He had just come out of his first surgery to remove…

Photo courtesy of Morgan Polen Day 10 of 31 This is Morgan Polen’s story: When I was pregnant, I began looking for a book to help me understand what pregnancy with cystic fibrosis would be like. I found none. I located a few scholarly articles…

Photo courtesy of Emily Lefebvre Day 9 of 31 This is Emily Lefebvre’s story: The month of May is becoming special for me. Not only is it Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, but May includes Mother’s Day as well.  Let me back up a…

Photo courtesy of Marquita Redd Day 8 of 31 This is Marquita Redd’s story: My name is Marquita, and I am an advocate for organ donation. My father had a liver transplant when I was 15 years old. When I was 17, right before I…

Photo courtesy of Todd Breland Day 7 of 31 This is Todd Breland’s story: I’m an artist, designer, skateboarder, surfer, and explorer. I also have cystic fibrosis and am a double lung transplant survivor. Diagnosed at 10, I was an active kid and thrived on…

Photo courtesy of S. Langland Day 6 of 31 This is Kristin Entler’s story: Cystic fibrosis is lonely. Not in the way all diseases are lonely. Not just the 2 a.m. “hacking into couch pillows” to keep from waking my partner upstairs, in quiet seconds…