Jennifer Chamberlain is a wife and the mother of two. Her youngest child was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis while in the NICU. Jennifer has always been passionate about writing, majoring in English in college and teaching a creative writing workshop to middle school students upon graduation. She went on to receive her law degree and is currently a practicing attorney. A Southern California native, you can find her at the beach, planning her next trip, or teaching Pilates in her free time.
“Mommy, what was that?” The wind whistled against our house, reaching 50 mph. We’d already lost power once in a precautionary outage. Meanwhile, communities less than an hour from our home were burning to…
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The day my children entered the world I felt responsible for their future path in life. As they have grown, I’ve helped them learn age-appropriate skills to hopefully enable them to be independent, successful…
Imagine getting a $2.5 million hospital bill within days of putting in notice to quit your full-time job. That was the exact scenario I faced in February 2019. At that time, my daughter, Claire,…
Even though I already had one child when my daughter, Claire, was born, her birth was a pivotal moment in my life. I wasn’t just a mom anymore; I was a cystic fibrosis…
It started when I was pregnant. Halfway through my pregnancy, we were faced with the possibility that our daughter Claire would be born with cystic fibrosis. This news brought a physical and…
When I hear a cough in public, my body tenses up and I immediately start scanning the room to see where it originated. (As a cystic fibrosis (CF) mom, I can usually find…
Most parents of children with rare diseases spend their lives trying to ensure that their child outlives them. That usually means taking part in fundraising to support the development of new treatments. But…
Every time my phone rings and shows the hospital prefix number, my heart skips a beat, there’s a lump in my throat, and I feel paralyzed with fear. Do I answer it or let…
As I drive through the fast-food line for the third day in a row, I can’t help but feel like a bad mom. Am I really feeding my kid fast food day after day?…
“Direct admission is a possibility.” These words from our daughter’s pulmonologist have been hanging over my head and lingering in my heart for weeks. Today, our daughter, Claire, is scheduled to undergo a bronchoscopy,…
I hate to admit this, but retail therapy is a coping mechanism I use when I’m stressed. It can be as simple as treating myself to a new facial product, but the expenses can…
Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Trikafta (ivacaftor, tezacaftor, and elexacaftor). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Recently,…
Dear fellow parents, After a long summer, it’s finally time to send our kids back to school. Trust me, I’m just as excited as you to have some quiet in my house. But…
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