Columns

When Serena Lawrence, the late Bionews senior columns editor, responded to my email about potentially writing for Cystic Fibrosis News Today and promptly offered me a columnist position, I was awestruck. This was the first concrete (read: monetary) endorsement of my writing. My hope with this column was to…

It’s true that having a partner in life can be a gift. Sharing the celebrations and sorrows makes life sweeter, especially when you’re living with CF. However, many people with CF struggle with the guilt of asking someone to tackle CF life alongside them. A relationship that includes CF almost…

If you keep up with CF research, you may have seen the news about Phase 3 of the triple combination Vertex therapies. In these results, patients had a robust lung function boost after trialing a triple combination therapy treatment. More importantly, these results were tested in a broad population…

It’s the happiest place in the world. Disneyland. I am afraid. Trembling, I slip deep down into the plastic seat molded into a massive seashell on wheels. The darkness of the man-made cavern is interrupted by a video on the ceiling that makes it feel like I…

The period between Halloween and New Year’s — what I usually call “the Holidays” — is the time of year I’ve always most enjoyed. Christmas music, chilly weather, early evenings, annual reunions with family — all of that made waking up each day my absolute favorite. I would reflect on…

I peered into one of the incubators that stored my petri dishes for 24 hours, anxious to see whether I would discover discoloration and unevenness on the surface, which would have indicated that my experiment produced favorable results. I wanted to see a visual representation of whether manuka…

As I’ve grown older, I’ve become a self-advocate, taking initiative when possible. I’ve developed a close relationship with my care team, which I believe is crucial for adults with CF who want to become authorities on their care. I took a sociology class in college on healthcare ethics. We…

It’s that time of year when we sit around our tables with carved turkeys, mashed potatoes, and a healthy dose of gratitude in honor of Thanksgiving. Sometimes I struggle to feel grateful. While gratitude may not come easily, the behavior can be learned and reinforced by making it part of…

I parked outside a library, where I’d planned to work for the day, at 7 a.m. in freezing 40-degree weather (I was raised in Hawaii). The library wouldn’t open for four more hours, and I was too tired to drive elsewhere, so I turned on my car’s heater…

I’ve been on Orkambi (lumacaftor/ivacaftor), a cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator, for just over three years now. My lung function has remained stable during that time. CFTR modulators are medications that “fix” the defect that causes cystic fibrosis. “Fixing” the defect means improving CFTR function. A person…