Columns

A running joke among my friends is that “Brad hates kids.” Maybe I did. I could blame that on my obsession with having adult friends as a teen — in comparison to them, children seemed so naive. So yeah, people would always find me rolling my eyes…

A couple of months ago, I did back-of-the-envelope calculations on basic CF stats. Here’s what I asked: In a year, how much time do I spend doing treatments? How many pills do I take? As I wrote last week, the spectrum of CF presentation is about as…

Last week, I introduced this column to share my experiences while working with cystic fibrosis (CF): the highs, the lows, the mid-meeting IVs — those kinds of things. In this column, I want to focus on the future; specifically, the dreams that I have…

I have a story for you. In my teens, I often ditched CF treatments to explore storm drains beneath my Hawaii suburban neighborhood. When entering the concrete tunnels (maybe 15 feet in height and width), they’re so dark it feels like you’re stepping into nothing, a vortex. Many…

If you’ve ever met more than one person with cystic fibrosis, it’s likely they had very different experiences than you. First, their approach likely will be different; chronic disease affects everyone differently mentally, so some are vocal and “embrace” it, while others are quieter and choose to consider it a…

Hello there, and welcome to my column! This is a place to talk shop. Work. Jobs. Careers. Whichever term you prefer. In the not-too-distant past, I was a wide-eyed, coffee-swilling exec with a penchant for checked trousers. I worked in a trendy digital agency in London. (Trendy enough to have…

On the night of Jan. 15, 2016, nurses rolled me in for surgery. I rolled out on Jan. 16 with a donor’s lungs. It’s been two years packed with awe. I love my post-transplant life. I’ve traveled all over, picked up new passions, and…

I ecstatically joined Cystic Fibrosis News Today in September because it was my first major opportunity to generate CF discussion. In this column, I’ve written about what a cure might actually mean for the community, why it’s important for parents to empower their children with CF, the…

A friend sat with me above heaven, a sapphire ocean embracing two lush islands and the greater island beneath our butts — Oahu. On that mountaintop, I rambled about finding meaning in all things. Lanikai Pillbox Hike. (Photo by Brad Dell)…

One of my earliest memories from elementary school was leaving class a little early before lunch to go to the nurse’s office to take my enzymes, always accompanied by a school peer. I wasn’t allowed to bring my enzymes with me to school because entrusting a young kid to take…