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What Does CF Even Look Like?
Yesterday I wrote a column about what it means to “look sick” or “look Deaf.” There are a surprising amount of CFers with hearing loss, and a great many others with secondary disabilities or illnesses, and each one seems to come with a certain stereotype in the public perception of what they should or shouldn’t look like.
I never mind being told that I don’t look sick (technically that’s a compliment?), but I never understand why it needs to be said at all (especially when clearly stuck in the hospital or said by healthcare professionals). Overall though, it’s always coming from a nice place, and I always love a good compliment!
But I have been told I don’t “look Deaf” more times than I can count, and it always makes me want to say: “What does Deaf look like?” I know the stereotype of what CF “looks like” (normally relating to posture, weight and height), but I also know many who defy said assumptions. I only have a couple of clubbed fingernails, not all of them. I am definitely on the smaller side with skinny ankles, but I also have hips. My spine is compressing over the years, but I am not particularly barrel shaped (guessing constantly engaging the muscles for dance posture over the years helped a little with this one).
We don’t all fit the bill as it did in a medical book 20 years ago, and I wish there was more education on that overall.
Question: What is one way that you “defy” the typical CF or sick stereotype?
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