Breathe and Believe – a Column by Kate Delany

In the dark days of my sister’s cystic fibrosis-induced respiratory failure and subsequent double-lung transplant, a single moment stands out as a flash of light, and even humor. I was sitting at my sister’s bedside, next to my brother-in-law. We both had our heads bowed, alternating between silence and talking…

A childhood friend whose husband is undergoing treatment for terminal cancer recently posted something on social media that struck me as smart. She thanked people for their concern, but then noted which kinds of offers of help were helpful, and which weren’t. I’ve both received and extended offers…

Recently, while I was in the political organizing world where I spend so much of my time, a random hospital memory popped into my head. It was of a routine experience from the days when my younger sister, Mary, a cystic fibrosis patient, was in respiratory failure. She was on…

When I was a kid, at the start of every school year my mother would pay a visit to my younger sister Mary’s new teacher to share information about Mary’s cystic fibrosis. One of the items she would share was a “Super Cystic and Fabulous Fran Fibrosis” book. These…

Herbs have been an important part of my life for more than a decade. Herbal remedies play an essential role in maintaining my health. I also believe in science and support modern medicine. As cold and flu season rolls around, it might be a good…

In his short story titled, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” writer Raymond Carver dramatizes an evening in which a small group of friends sits around a dining room table drinking and reminiscing. They share stories that are both intense and rambling. The friends discover that…

Having a chronic illness, or caring for someone who does, means spending a lot of time thinking about an organ or body system, usually in a very specific way. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the lungs of my younger sister, Mary, who has CF. I’ve stressed over…

Studies about healthy people with chronically ill siblings are rare. Almost every study examining the psychological impact of illness on the well siblings begins, “This is an underexplored demographic.” This doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been a well sibling since age 3,…

My sister Mary was just in the hospital for the first time in nine months. Though she was an inpatient over the holidays last winter, as so many cystic fibrosis patients often are, we couldn’t visit her because of the pandemic, which made the experience even more difficult. Nine months…

Cystic fibrosis took my sister’s hearing. Well, actually, it was prolonged exposure to Tobi (tobramycin). Tobramycin is a frequently prescribed bactericidal antibiotic, or aminoglycoside, that’s effective in dealing with CF exacerbations. Because it’s so good at beating back pseudomonas, many adult CFers use it frequently and for extended…