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Day 5 of #31DaysOfCF: American Ninja Warrior and CF Warrior
Amber Dawkins has 182 pills, neatly organized in a plastic container, the days of the week labeled in bold on each of the small sections. Just enough medication to last for seven days. Inhalers, nebulizers, airway clearance devices. Insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring supplies. Then there is liquid chalk, a lightweight pair of training shoes, and medical tape in a well-worn gym bag. Oh, and a basement ninja gym… because Amber is training for “American Ninja Warrior.”
CF Warrior. American Ninja Warrior. Amber is both. She was born with a life expectancy of 20. Today, Amber is 37 and going strong.
Her message is this: “We are strong, we are resilient, we are unstoppable. We can conquer any obstacle. We are CF Warriors.”
Amber, you are an incredible human being!
Now back to our CF Community: Are you able to enjoy physical activities? Which are your favorite ones?
To read the rest of Amber’s story, and learn more about her training, click here.
Our #31DaysOfCF initiative is running for the entire month of May. Each day, we are featuring a different story, and a different view of life with CF. To read all of the stories, visit our website.
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2 Replies
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I like to walk. I have a dog. She likes this too. We keep eachother fit.
I am not a warrior tho. I am not my fighting my body, disease or anything. I cooperate with it. We are in this together. Or actually the body is in me. We take care of eachother. This is a thing of peace, not of war. A quiet mind in a happy body.
Life expectancy for me is not about longevity. I am not here for the quantity. I am here to be an emanation of nature. Nature comes and goes, that’s its quality. Life expectancy for me is about what I expect from life and what life can expect from me. Which is compliance, creativity, joy and surrender. This is effortless freedom. And Love. My body is from 1963. I am however the timeless one.
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One of my favorite physical activities, a hobby I only picked up in the last couple years and look forward to doing again once the weather permits, is stand up paddle boarding. While I am not a great swimmer by any stretch of the imagination, I really enjoy water activities!
Stories like Amber’s are incredible to me, not only because she’s accomplishing something incredible while balancing CF, but they remind me how powerful the human body truly is. We can do so many amazing things!
Thanks so much for sharing this!
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