Victorious – a Column by Brad Dell

July 17, 2018July 13, 2018

I’ve Come Full Circle

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

“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 ... Read more

July 10, 2018July 12, 2018

Nothing Like a Car Wreck to Ease Your Worrying (Seriously)

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

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 ... Read more

July 3, 2018June 29, 2018

Proof that Mycobacterium Abscessus Doesn’t Always Lead to Transplant Failure

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

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 ... Read more

June 26, 2018June 25, 2018

Mycobacterium Abscessus Shouldn’t Be an Automatic Transplant Disqualifier

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

At some point in the eighth grade in 2008, I drank some bad water. Later, I vomited and some of that yuck liquid aspirated into my lungs. That invasion ... Read more

June 19, 2018June 18, 2018

My Thoughts on the European Cystic Fibrosis Conference (ECFS 2018)

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

After 37 hours of travel, I landed in Belgrade, Serbia. I hopped in a cab and rolled past rows of rusted relics — airplanes of various centuries, including the ... Read more

June 12, 2018June 8, 2018

Making Up for Lost Time and Lost Experiences

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

I’m flyin’ high. Or maybe flyin’ buzzed. My transplant docs say “drink only in moderation,” and I am, smuggling sips via a straw tucked into my N99 mask. It’s ... Read more

June 5, 2018June 1, 2018

With Pulmonary Disease Comes Brain Fog, and It Sucks

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

Confession: I failed kindergarten. It was open house night and my teacher showed my parents a line of class self-portraits. There were probably some overly large heads and outlandish ... Read more

May 29, 2018May 31, 2018

My Erratic Mental Pendulum Slams Between Depression and Anxiety

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

  It starts with chemicals too small to see. Too little of this, too much of that. An imbalance. It becomes a dulled personality. A mixture of confusion and ... Read more

May 15, 2018May 14, 2018

CF Battered Me, but I’m Striking Back at Life at a Full Sprint

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

I’m dead-beat. Bone-tired. Wasted. But I ain’t dead-dead and I ain’t lung-tired. And with my lung transplant, I guess you could say I’m recycled, rather than wasted. Maybe these ... Read more

May 8, 2018May 7, 2018

Sugar Does the Trick, But I Won’t Let It Trick Me

Columns, Victorious - a Column by Brad Dell

Mom never had to force me to eat my veggies. Matter of fact, she tried to force me to eat less of them. There was nothing quite as refreshing as ... Read more