Columns

Nurses save lives. It might sound dramatic, but it’s true. Throughout my journey with cystic fibrosis (CF) and a double-lung transplant nearly eight years ago, I’ve encountered nurses in every season of life. They’ve been present in both inpatient and outpatient settings. They’ve coordinated my care, worked behind…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with using masks during nebulizer treatments. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. I haven’t dealt with many sinus issues in my lifetime. At age 17, I had a nasal polyp…

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 who, in my lifetime, have had to fight for fair and equal rights. I’m thinking of…

I live in southeastern Pennsylvania, where the trees and flowers bloom in April and May. In my early adult years, May was usually the month when I’d be hospitalized with a cystic fibrosis (CF) pulmonary exacerbation. Many times, I chalked it up to being run-down after leading a team…

Poop is a hot topic in my household. For me, having cystic fibrosis (CF) means having pancreatic insufficiency. Therefore, I don’t produce enough digestive enzymes to break down my food. It’s a constant balancing act of ensuring that I take enough enzymes with higher fat foods and not…

I was extremely active growing up. I was the point guard on my elementary school’s girls’ basketball team and the catcher on the softball team. I had no problems playing entire games and participating in multiple practices each week. My cystic fibrosis (CF) physician always encouraged my mom to…

There’s a myth out there that “a healthy person has a thousand wishes, but a sick person has only one.” As someone with cystic fibrosis (CF), I’ve never had a body I could call healthy. At my sickest, I was bedbound for weeks at a time, unable to breathe.

I recently agreed to facilitate one of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s CF Circles, which are virtual small-group discussions about a specific topic. The focus of this particular gathering was “Living with cystic fibrosis (CF) over 40.” After my double-lung transplant in 2020, I decided to take a…

As a Christian, I view this time of year as an opportunity to reflect on death and new life. Easter is a reminder of the miracle of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and I always find connections in that story to my transplant journey. The first year after my double-lung…

To follow my column last week about the rate of divorce after surviving advanced cystic fibrosis (CF) and double-lung transplant, this week I’ll focus on the intricate balance of living while dying. Don’t get me wrong, the improvement in my lung health since my transplant four years ago…