This month, my beautiful daughter, Claudia, will celebrate her 29th birthday. I was 24 and living with cystic fibrosis (CF) when I became her mother. It’s now been four years since my double-lung transplant, and I’m currently fighting COVID-19 for the fourth time in four years. As the…
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I thought about my immune system in a completely different way before my double-lung transplant seven years ago. Boosting my immune system to fight infections was par for my course, given the cystic fibrosis (CF) in my lungs. Now, it’s dangerous to boost my immunity too much. Finding a…
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 I’m eating said cheese. I could give you recommendations for the best mozzarella in northern New…
The other morning, I was startled awake by the sound of my insulin pump screaming for me to change a part of my infusion set. That happens regularly with my Omnipod system, which I use to provide insulin for my cystic fibrosis-related diabetes. Omnipod sets off an alarm…
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 huge Kendrick Lamar fan were matched by the lows of simply opening a news website or…
The end of 2024 is upon us, which means it’s time to reflect on the past year and evaluate ourselves and our decisions. It’s also a time for resolution — the promise to implement positive life changes in the new year. Many New Year’s resolutions focus on exercise, with goals…
I learned about the notion of bodily autonomy from a dear friend who, like me, has cystic fibrosis (CF). Before, I’d been oblivious about the subject; it hadn’t occurred to me that it was even a topic for consideration. I’ve now dived deep into this matter, and it’s spurred…
This past spring, before graduating from my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in creative writing, I had one last meeting with my adviser. We connected via Zoom as I sat on my back porch in North Carolina while he sat in his office back in Arkansas. That’s when he…
“How am I going to get old like this?” I was watching the film “Thelma” with my husband last night, and five minutes into the opener, I found myself crying. I’m not a collector of antique things, but I am a longtime appreciator of vintage personalities. I love…
What is cystic fibrosis (CF)? I get asked this question on the regular. My automatic response is: Please don’t search it online. No, really. Just don’t. I equate searching CF online to looking up your symptoms when you’re sick: Both typically result in death. (That’s dark humor.) But truly,…
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