Doing Treatments Around New Folks

Recently one of our columnists, Jennifer Chamberlain, wrote about her experience camping with friends. She writes about the initial difficulty and vulnerability she felt for her daughter (who has CF) when doing treatments and medications. After a few days, her friend group became a support network in a way she hadn’t expected. 

For me, this column reminds me of when I started college. I hadn’t ever done treatments in front of folks outside my close friends and family, and I didn’t know how comfortable I felt doing them with strangers… until I accidentally set off the fire alarms in my dorm. I was embarrassed for a minute, but quickly got comfortable doing the Vest and my nebulizers with my dorm room open. It became an opportunity to both educate my peers and make friends! This experience certainly gave me confidence in myself and eventually allowed me to freely do treatments quite literally anywhere (airports, hostels, parks, etc).

How do you feel doing treatments in front of strangers?