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Adaptability: Expecting the unexpected
I’ve lived with CF long enough to know that the only certain thing about it is uncertainty. There have been countless times in my life that CF has thrown a wrench into even the best laid plans. As a child, I missed weeks of school at a time. As an adult, I was nearly fired from a job due to my “inconsistency.” As a college student, I took final exams from a hospital bed — twice! As a parent, I’ve missed school programs and other important events in her life (thankfully, she’s had other supportive adults in her life who consistently show up for her when I can’t).
The point is, CF adds a tremendous amount of uncertainty to our lives. I’ve learned to roll with the punches and adapt to new, sometimes difficult or incredibly uncomfortable, situations.
Right now, I’m navigating a significant change in plans regarding my daughter’s schooling. We thought our minds were set. We thought we’d made the best decision for our family. But as time goes on and we’re given new information, those plans are changing. I’m struggling with the uncertainty of it all, while also realizing that ultimately, we’re going to be okay. We’ve handled tricky situations before. We’ve got this! I think that CF is at least partially to thank for my ability to handle tricky life changes because it’s given me so much practice!
Have your plans ever been derailed by CF? (If so, I’d love to hear about it!) How has the unpredictability of this disease affected your life? How do you adapt to big or sudden life changes?
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4 Replies
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Chaos theory – alive and well in CF. So complex a disability!
Do stick with it Jenny. -
Murphy’s law is another one that seems to be alive and well when it comes to CF. Hah! Thanks so much, Tim.
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My life has always been thrown around by life. CF only was a small part of everything happening, other than being a great pointer to the unpredictability of life. When CF is in the forefront of your attention, it is easy to attribute an important role to it. But in fact, it only looks like that. Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. I can’t possibly fathom how everything that happens/happened influences everything that happens. Especially because I am the happening myself. So the best way of adapting to change is being the change itself.
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Then there is O’toole’s Law “Murphy is an optimist!”
and you may also ask ‘Do you know “Coles Law?”
Spell (or say) it a little differently and you get ‘coleslaw.’
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