Understanding Nonsense - a Column by Willian Ryan

Sometimes I don’t know where cystic fibrosis (CF) begins and I end. I’ve lived with the ups and downs CF has brought since I was diagnosed just three months after I was born. I recently celebrated my 32nd birthday. I used to hate my birthday. I don’t…

Last weekend, I was at my local pharmacy buying birthday cards when I remembered that I needed to pick up the insulin refill my endocrinologist had ordered the day before. After giving the cashier my name and date of birth, I paid $3 for my monthly insulin pack, which I…

As an adult with cystic fibrosis (CF), I’m part of the majority within the CF community. Whereas this disease was once seen as a childhood illness, scientific advancements have allowed us to grow up, get older, and adjust to a life we didn’t foresee 10 or 15 years…

You’re probably aware of the proverb “It takes a village,” which highlights that having a community is necessary for accomplishing tasks or goals or advancing a cause. For people like me who have cystic fibrosis (CF), making progress with disease funding, research, and care has certainly required a village.

At 31, I still love basketball, and I’ve been a New York Knicks fan for 25 years. For the first 21 years of my fandom, the franchise was a model of instability and getting in its own way. I try to approach my health in the exact opposite manner, which…

One of the “pleasantries” of life with cystic fibrosis (CF) is navigating cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD). I’ve been periodically dealing with it since the summer of 2007. For the last two and a half years, though, it’s stayed with me like an unwanted memento. As I…

I sat at the head of the table in my workplace conference room and looked out the window, trying to grasp what I needed to do during my break. The problem was, I couldn’t remember. Instead, I just kept looking out the window as Pixies’ “Where Is My…

I’ve been away for a while, but not because I wanted to be. While I’d love to say I stepped away for something exciting, the only fun I had was seeing the film “Training Day,” starring Denzel Washington, and binge-watching TV shows from 20 years ago. It wasn’t…

While scrolling through social media this morning, I learned that the rapper Fat Joe’s eldest son, Joey, is autistic. He wished his son a happy birthday and posted a nice message. The first comment I saw was from someone complaining that Fat Joe has never spoken…

We spend much of life transitioning between roles. Nothing is supposed to last forever, and the time you spend in one role is already preparing you for the next. Aware or not, I’ve been preparing to become an advocate, for myself and others, all of my life. As an adult…