Air of Life - a Column by Ed Jordan

Holidays used to sneak up on me. I’d barely notice the calendar flipping over to June. Maybe I’d see a sign in the grocery store or a rack of “World’s Best Dad” mugs by the checkout, but it never meant much. Father’s Day was just another Sunday. I was never…

By the time my late daughter, Jasmine, had turned 11, we’d become professionals at handling cystic fibrosis (CF). In those years, our lives revolved around a schedule that most people couldn’t imagine. CF is a genetic disease that causes the mucus in the body to become thick and sticky,…

When my late daughter, Jasmine, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 1994, we had appointments to remember, medications to track, and other treatments that seemed to eat up every spare moment. I remember sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by prescription bottles and sticky notes, wondering how I would…

When my late daughter, Jasmine, who had cystic fibrosis, turned 10 in 2001, she had lived through a year of medical routines and hospitalizations. But there were also moments of unexpected joy. For her birthday, she wanted a unicorn cake, so we attempted to make one together. With our…

Every morning used to start the same way. My late daughter, Jasmine, would shuffle into the kitchen with wild-looking hair, rub the sleep from her eyes, and ask for applesauce with cinnamon. Before she could eat, though, she’d have to do her cystic fibrosis treatment regimen, which consisted of…

During the summer of 2001, when my late daughter, Jasmine, was 9, she required a two-week hospital stay due to an acute pulmonary exacerbation — a complication of her cystic fibrosis (CF). Life was never the same after that. When I finally brought her home, the relief was…

When my late daughter, Jasmine, was 8 years old, she never wanted to miss a party. Even when her lungs felt heavy and her breath was short, she’d insist on putting on a T-shirt and jeans, ready for any adventure that awaited her. She loved birthday parties most of all…

Mornings with my daughter, Jasmine, who passed away at 27 due to cystic fibrosis, always began quietly. She would wake up before me, her hair still wild from moving around in her sleep. I would find her sitting on the edge of her bed, feet dangling, already thinking about…

I lost my daughter, Jasmine, to cystic fibrosis (CF) at age 27, but we battled and lived with this rare genetic disease since before she turned 2 years old. In 1998, when Jasmine was 6, our mornings always started early. The kitchen was never quiet for long — it…

Cystic fibrosis (CF) doesn’t take breaks, but my late daughter, Jasmine, would have none of that. Even as a child, she was a pro at fighting this rare, genetic illness. Children are so much more resilient than we realize. Her joy in life taught me not to focus only…