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July 28, 1 p.m. We’re laughing. Some of us literally poured blood, sweat, and tears to be there laughing. Transplant recipients, like me. Others thought they’d never see their loved ones laugh again, much less years later. Caregivers. Others doubted they’d ever laugh again after they lost the…

With my son’s first birthday fast approaching, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how quickly this first year of parenthood has gone. I know this is the most basic parenthood thing you can say, but here I go: It. Went. Too. Quickly. It feels like we’ve just…

One year ago, I was six months post-lung transplant. I was still fumbling about, trying to sort out my new body and aspirations to help other CFers with my second chance at life. I didn’t know how to inspire others to strength if I could barely walk. I…

“Living On a Prayer” played as I pulled into an intersection. From the corner of my eye, I saw a car dart onto my street. A screech and a smash. T-boned, rammed into my driver door. Shrapnel-like glass blasted through the air, trimming a sliver of flesh from my…

Being in a relationship with someone who has CF can be tricky, whether as a co-worker, friend, partner, or family member. It can be hard to know exactly what to do to support them when you aren’t sure what they are going through. Following is a list of simple acts…

“It’s all come full circle,” I repeated, rather exhaustingly, about two dozen times over the past two weeks when visiting family in Florida. Exactly two years ago, my family learned we’d have to leave Hawaii, my home for 12 years, to get my lung transplant at the University…

Guilt. It’s a feeling I’ve had to process a lot lately. It’s something we all deal with from time to time. Maybe it’s due to a forgotten meeting, the dirty dishes piled up in the sink, or stumbling to bed without a kiss goodnight. Things happen, we are…

Two Christmases ago, my husband gave me a gift certificate for a massage. This week, I finally scheduled my first massage and cashed in the expiring gift. The timing felt designed, as my body is aching from inflammation and lugging around a 10-month-old baby boy one-third my size. I even…

On July 2, 2016, I awoke from a nightmare with a wheeze. In the movies, people awaken from nightmares with a gasp. But gasping takes air. I’d been suffocating for days. Days of tripping through a horrific hallucination that may sound funny, but only if you didn’t live…

Part two of a series. Read part one. Last week, I wrote about how disheartened I felt that many lung transplant centers refuse to help cystic fibrosis patients with Mycobacterium abscessus complex (Myco Ab), which is a species of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Myco Ab makes transplant…