Columns

I sat at the head of the table in my workplace conference room and looked out the window, trying to grasp what I needed to do during my break. The problem was, I couldn’t remember. Instead, I just kept looking out the window as Pixies’ “Where Is My…

For many years, I’ve had to endure the ongoing praise for life-changing cystic fibrosis (CF) medications. Let me explain. CFTR modulators like the most recently approved drug Trikafta (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor) have completely changed the way that many patients address the chronic challenges of CF. I’ve watched…

I’ve been away for a while, but not because I wanted to be. While I’d love to say I stepped away for something exciting, the only fun I had was seeing the film “Training Day,” starring Denzel Washington, and binge-watching TV shows from 20 years ago. It wasn’t…

“When can we get out of here?” my mom asks the group of doctors on their daily rounds. I’m in a hospital bed, tape tugging at my skin as a nurse unhooks me from an IV antibiotic. While she presses buttons on the machine, I reach over to the…

It started when I was pregnant. Halfway through my pregnancy, we were faced with the possibility that our daughter Claire would be born with cystic fibrosis. This news brought a physical and emotional sensation like I’ve never felt before. I didn’t just feel that she would be born…

In this column, I want to discuss something that’s been bothering me for a long time, so I’ll just go ahead and say it: I despise the fact that the topics of age and life expectancy are such a prominent feature of the cystic fibrosis (CF) identity. This…

I would have died without a double-lung transplant. Those words still send chills down my spine. It’s surreal that my story could have turned out differently. I try not to dwell on it, but sometimes my eyes sweat with emotion while reflecting on that truth: I was dying…

Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Orkambi, Trikafta, and Symdeko. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. In December 2019, I was working through my final year of a master’s degree in creative writing. Most…

When I hear a cough in public, my body tenses up and I immediately start scanning the room to see where it originated. (As a cystic fibrosis (CF) mom, I can usually find the source within seconds.) Then I try to make sure my daughter, Claire, who is 4…

As a person with a disability, I’ve been perceived as different and treated that way. This treatment has taken various forms during the seasons of my life, depending on when my disability was visible. I’ve been misunderstood, misrepresented, and mistreated in all kinds of arenas, and I want to set…