Realizing what my dad faced when I was a baby with cystic fibrosis
It was the middle of the night when I found myself in an Uber with my dog Ruby. I was traveling through an area where, over 10 years ago, I would’ve been hanging out…
Understanding Nonsense — William Ryan
William Ryan is an adult with cystic fibrosis and cystic fibrosis-related diabetes. William is from Bayonne, New Jersey, a small peninsula city roughly 20 minutes from New York City. Along with being a columnist, he works in local government helping senior citizens, disabled citizens, and veterans. He was diagnosed with CF in early 1993. He has a rare mutation of CF, mostly affecting his digestive system rather than his respiratory system. William and his wife, Gina, have two dogs, Otis and Ruby. He hopes you’ll enjoy reading his columns as much as Otis and Ruby do.
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Working through the trauma of pulmonary function testing
I can still envision it: The top half of the wall was painted a shade of beige, while the bottom half was covered in blue wallpaper with white stripes. That’s how I remember the…
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What’s ahead for the disabled if we don’t change policies
The current United States is, in many ways, not the United States where I grew up. In my view, our sense of decorum has changed. Given that, I’m concerned about communities of marginalized people…
With my nonsense mutations, Alyftrek offers new hope
As a proud son of New Jersey who’s married to a woman who’s half Italian, I’ve found that fresh mozzarella is a key to happiness in life. I’ve never had a bad day when…
Living with cystic fibrosis has been a battle this year, but I survived
It has been a year. From an underwhelming season of “Vanderpump Rules” to a historic rap battle, the world has navigated a roller coaster of emotions and events. The highs of me being a…
What life with CF is like, and why it defines who I am
Sometimes I don’t know where cystic fibrosis (CF) begins and I end. I’ve lived with the ups and downs CF has brought since I was diagnosed just three months after I was…
Americans with disabilities need support, solidarity from legislators
Last weekend, I was at my local pharmacy buying birthday cards when I remembered that I needed to pick up the insulin refill my endocrinologist had ordered the day before. After giving the cashier…
As I’m aging, I’m working to get past my health-related self-sabotage
As an adult with cystic fibrosis (CF), I’m part of the majority within the CF community. Whereas this disease was once seen as a childhood illness, scientific advancements have allowed us to…
Celebrating Great Strides and the CF advocates behind it
You’re probably aware of the proverb “It takes a village,” which highlights that having a community is necessary for accomplishing tasks or goals or advancing a cause. For people like me who have…
Controlling anxiety is a key part of managing my health with CF
At 31, I still love basketball, and I’ve been a New York Knicks fan for 25 years. For the first 21 years of my fandom, the franchise was a model of instability and getting…
My continuous glucose monitoring device worked — until it didn’t
One of the “pleasantries” of life with cystic fibrosis (CF) is navigating cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD). I’ve been periodically dealing with it since the summer of 2007. For the last…
Medicine side effects nearly broke me, but I overcame them
I sat at the head of the table in my workplace conference room and looked out the window, trying to grasp what I needed to do during my break. The problem was, I couldn’t…
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