Columns

After a particularly stressful six months, I hit a breaking point a few weeks ago. I was finding myself constantly overwhelmed by life. I still feel that way to an extent. School activities, schedule changes, and behavioral issues with my kids send me into a tailspin. Work deadlines haunt me…

I had a virtual call recently with my cystic fibrosis (CF) physician, who’s also a lung transplant expert. More recently, he obtained credentials in palliative care as well. Since my double-lung transplant in 2020, I see him every few months under his palliative care hat. On this virtual…

I might look like I have it all together, but right now, my belly aches, my brain is foggy, and I can’t seem to focus long enough to write this column. From the outside, I look incredible. I’m not bragging, I get this comment a lot. On the surface,…

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 born. I recently celebrated my 32nd birthday. I used to hate my birthday. I don’t…

Here in Pennsylvania, September is my favorite month. The summer humidity is gone, the sun is still warm, but there’s a slight chill in the air that’s new. If you’re observant, you can notice the leaves on the trees are not as vibrant. They start to look more frail as…

Something specific to the cystic fibrosis (CF) world is how we talk and the words we say. After living with CF my whole life, I’ve gained insight into our speech compared with that of the able-bodied world. That awareness dramatically grew after my double-lung transplant seven years…

It feels surreal that I had a double-lung transplant seven years ago. The season of life leading up to my transplant is still present in my mind as I reflect on what I went through physically and emotionally. Going through the transplant process was traumatic. Today, I continue to…

In the next two weeks, my goal is to raise thousands of dollars for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I’ll hike 17 miles and host a Pilates fundraiser to try to reach this amount. These commitments are atop my already jam-packed schedule filled with school drop-offs and pickups, after-school activities,…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with a continuous glucose monitoring device. Not everyone will have the same response. Consult your doctor before using any new medical device. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is largely known as a respiratory disease. It primarily affects the lungs and digestive system,…

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 my name and date of birth, I paid $3 for my monthly insulin pack, which I…