I recently attended a webinar hosted by the Gift of Life Donor Program focused on post-traumatic growth. It provided terminology for experiences I’ve been navigating but couldn’t quite articulate. The emotional landscape of receiving an organ transplant, as I have, is complex, and I now realize that growth often…
Living Beyond — Jennifer Cogliano
Jennifer Cogliano, diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in her first few days of life, has been defying the odds of her disease for the majority of her life. She has a daughter, worked as a nurse for 20 years, and then received the gift of life through a bilateral lung transplant in 2020 during the pandemic. Jennifer is the self-published author of a children’s picture book, “The Friendship Umbrella,” which teaches about being kind, helping others, and appreciating each other’s differences. Jennifer loves dogs and music, has a strong faith in God, and has always chosen to count her blessings instead of her struggles.
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Five years ago, I got the call. If you’re in the cystic fibrosis (CF) community and have had a double-lung transplant, you know the weight of those words. You know how the terror and the relief collapse into a single moment after you hang up the phone. You…
Living with cystic fibrosis (CF) means navigating a complex medical journey that can feel isolating, even when the clinical care is excellent. When I faced the life-altering decision to pursue a double-lung transplant, I discovered the power of community support. Through both national resources and local connections, support groups…
Living with cystic fibrosis (CF) is a daily balancing act of medications, fatigue, breathing treatments, and managing my energy levels. Some days feel manageable, and others feel like I’m climbing a mountain with no summit in sight. But for me, a dog (or two) has always been a source…
One month ago, my daughter got married. I woke up early that morning and took a long, slow, deep breath. For someone who has lived with cystic fibrosis (CF), that simple act felt like a miracle. But the real miracle was still ahead — walking my daughter down the…
In my life with cystic fibrosis (CF), the antibiotic tobramycin has saved my life countless times. But 15 years ago, it took something from me that I’ll never get back. Toxicity from the drug permanently destroyed the tiny hair cells in my inner ear, leaving me with vestibular…
Living with cystic fibrosis (CF) and a double-lung transplant often feels like inhabiting two worlds simultaneously. There’s the extraordinary world, filled with medical miracles, precisely managed medications, and a body that has defied more statistics than I care to count. Then there’s the ordinary world, where sometimes all I…
At 54 years old, and five years after my double-lung transplant, I feel September’s arrival differently than most do. I don’t just notice Pennsylvania’s crisp air or the dry leaves crunching underfoot. The month carries a weight that goes beyond seasonal change for people like me who are living with…
This Labor Day weekend marks five years since I received the gift of a double-lung transplant. Actually, it happened on Sept. 5, 2020, but that was the Saturday before Labor Day that year, so I tend to equate the holiday with my surgery. I’m writing this column as my…
I’ll never forget my daughter’s college graduation — not because I was there cheering in the audience, but because I wasn’t. Instead of watching her walk across the stage in person, I was watching the ceremony on my phone from the intensive care unit, where I was fighting a bowel…
When people think of cystic fibrosis (CF), colon cancer usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But for those of us living beyond what used to be the limits of this disease, it’s become an important and very real concern. Thanks to advances in treatments,…
Because I’m living with cystic fibrosis (CF), nutrition is more than just a personal choice; it’s a vital part of managing my health. With CF, malabsorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins makes it challenging to gain and maintain weight. It also results in vitamin deficiencies. And while…
Today I turned 54. My birthday doesn’t come with a party theme or a cultural rite of passage. However, for someone with cystic fibrosis (CF) like me, it’s a quiet revolution. When I was diagnosed, the average life expectancy was 12 years old. For me, 54 isn’t just a…
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