Columns

The life of a person with CF is constantly affected by language. A common debate in the community is how best to label us. Is it better to call someone a CFer or a person/adult/child with CF? To some, CFer means their life is singled down to one identifying characteristic,…

Life with cystic fibrosis (CF) has made me all too aware of the ticking clock. Having a natural tendency to be impatient, I’m a person who wants things done and over with now. Results have to be instant or they’re unsatisfactory. What I want…

I’m not sure what I’m here for, but I hope it’s something good. From the ages of 8 to 12, I thought I was designed for warfare. My father served in the military, and don’t we all aspire to do as our parents did?…

It sucks being sick. This is a fact. But, contrary to popular belief, being sick doesn’t make you a better person. This is also a fact. CF friends are once in a lifetime. (Photo by Bailey Anne Vincent) I can be the most hyperbolic person ever. I…

I’ve always been able to eat whatever I wanted. That’s just a part of growing up with CF. Kids are picky eaters to begin with, but when you combine the inability to gain weight with pickiness, it results in headaches and frustration. So, when I was a kid, our doctors…

Getting older has its perks.  With each passing year, I find I’m a little more willing to reveal.  I feel more open to showing my true skin. I used to conceal it with foundation, eyeliner — the whole works. Now, I only cover the…

This is an apology you don’t know I’m writing. The first thing I texted you today was “Nope.” It was in reply to what you texted me at 9:07 a.m.: “Have you seen an ENT yet?” You were gone before I opened my eyes, as our schedule so often trends,…

Bradley was a dramatic kid. I’d sit up in bed at night, unable to lie down because it made me cough, and wonder whether Prometheus ever became used to having his liver pecked out each day. I concluded it wouldn’t be much of a curse if he got used…

In my senior year of high school, I went to the exercise section of Dick’s Sporting Goods and searched for boxing gloves. I had decided on a whim that I wanted to learn how to box. At the time, I was mostly weight lifting, and the majority of my…

I have a funny relationship with the P-word. It feels as familiar as my own skin, yet somehow still alien. At clinics when I was growing up, I used to strain my eyes across the table, trying to read my doctors’ notes as they…