Columns

“I can give something to relax you,” the doctor says. I stiffly nod, neck taut and arm outstretched for an arterial blood gas test. The doctor holds up a syringe — a drop of shiny liquid is squished between needle and plunger. It’s the purest looking substance…

Happy New Year, friends! I’ve always loved this holiday. The fresh chances, the deeply felt hope, winter snow, fruity champagne (real or not), and kisses all around. Yes, I’ve always loved this holiday … For the first 24 hours. You…

The world isn’t fair. Anyone born with a genetic disease like cystic fibrosis before they’ve even had a chance to earn bad karma knows that. But that doesn’t mean we need to stand aside and “take it” when other people are unfair to us…

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about misunderstandings within the CF community. But what about misunderstandings projected into the community from the outside? If you’re a non-CFer, keep these things in mind when interacting with someone who has the disease. You might not feel sick, but that…

“You’re so lucky.” I’ve heard and read that all too often over the past year. I’m lucky I lived to my 20s with cystic fibrosis, I’m lucky I had a lung transplant, I’m lucky my recovery was relatively smooth. The phrase is…

“Cystic fibrosis is a genetic lung disease.” That’s an accurate statement, sure. But it doesn’t reflect the diversity of patient cases — the myriad mutations that cause each case of CF, and the unique medical contexts that shape those cases. And, as all CFers know, the mutations affect…

I’ve gone through life afraid of numbers. Not just math, although I’m really terrible at that. Numbers like “37”: the life expectancy of someone with CF, a number that was even lower when I was growing up. Numbers like “4”: the amount of antibiotics needed to…

I walk through a football stadium. I catch a whiff of the cotton candy and am smacked back to every procedure I’ve had, breathing in the stale cotton candy-scented anesthetic before I drift to nothingness. I am so overcome with fear that I feel like dropping to…

In the three years that I’ve spent away at college, I’ve learned oodles of life-changing lessons that can only be taught by good ole Professor Experience. Freshman year, I learned that duct tape won’t keep twinkly lights on your walls, but will allow…

I won’t lie. The first two months after my double-lung transplant were rough. I wasn’t in much pain, but my body was struggling to adjust to the cornucopia of transplant drugs, and I experienced the torment of withdrawal from the powerful painkillers I was on. After those…