They say hindsight is 20/20. Now that I’m in my 50s, I can reflect on my younger years and realize that I was trying to do too much. I was spinning all of the plates in the air and trying to fulfill every role that came my way: mother, wife,…
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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Last in a series. Read part one. Last week, I asked why those with cystic fibrosis (CF), a progressive and incurable genetic disease, must keep proving disability after already qualifying. This is especially frustrating after reaching an advanced disease stage and undergoing a life-extending double-lung transplant, as I…
A long list of medical conditions can be considered invisible because others can’t see their effects. Those of us living with cystic fibrosis (CF) understand the idea well since we commonly hear “You look well!” or “You don’t look sick,” even from people who know we have the…
In 2014, when my daughter was entering her freshman year of college, I watched a segment of the TV news program “60 Minutes” that changed my life. In the segment, presenter Anderson Cooper reported on a mindfulness retreat he attended led by Jon Kabat-Zinn, often considered the…
Labor Day weekend means many things. It celebrates the achievements of the American worker while also marking the end of summer vacation and the start of a new school year. And to me, it’s the anniversary of my double-lung transplant. Three years ago on Labor Day weekend, I received…
Having two rare mutations that cause my cystic fibrosis (CF) has been a small blessing for me. It’s true that I’m unable to participate in many clinical trials that might have given me access to new medications; that’s because I don’t have a copy of the…
In 1994, I was 24 years old and engaged to be married. My health was good despite my cystic fibrosis (CF). My doctor hadn’t mentioned anything about family planning, so I decided to move forward with my life. A month before our wedding, my husband-to-be and I stopped…
My mother was recently cleaning out her attic, trying out the minimalist technique she’d seen on a Netflix show. In the process of deciding which items still bring her joy, she gathered a bag full of my school papers from childhood. Forty years later, she still couldn’t bring herself to…
As a new columnist for Cystic Fibrosis News Today, I welcome you to “Living Beyond.” I come from a time when the life expectancy for someone born with cystic fibrosis (CF) was around 11 years. At that time, the only medicines prescribed to treat CF…
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