Valiant Voice — Lara Govendo

Several pieces of my life puzzle happen to be rare. First thing’s first: I have cystic fibrosis (CF), a rare disease that affects about 40,000 people in the United States. (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers a disease rare if it affects fewer than 200,000 people.)…

I’m willing to bet that when people perform random acts of kindness, they’re not so random. It comes from the heart’s desire to do something kind for people. I also think it’s a matter of paying it forward. I know that when others do something kind for me, it ignites…

I just celebrated another year on this planet in December. My birthday has become a time of deep reflection as I age with cystic fibrosis (CF), sprinkling in an added layer of life with a double-lung transplant. Now I’ve turned 38; I’m growing older. I don’t have gray hair…

I thought about my immune system in a completely different way before my double-lung transplant seven years ago. Boosting my immune system to fight infections was par for my course, given the cystic fibrosis (CF) in my lungs. Now, it’s dangerous to boost my immunity too much. Finding a…

I learned about the notion of bodily autonomy from a dear friend who, like me, has cystic fibrosis (CF). Before, I’d been oblivious about the subject; it hadn’t occurred to me that it was even a topic for consideration. I’ve now dived deep into this matter, and it’s spurred…

What is cystic fibrosis (CF)? I get asked this question on the regular. My automatic response is: Please don’t search it online. No, really. Just don’t. I equate searching CF online to looking up your symptoms when you’re sick: Both typically result in death. (That’s dark humor.) But truly,…

Since my double-lung transplant seven years ago, I’ve struggled with breathlessness during exercise. I was used to this symptom while living with cystic fibrosis (CF) lungs, but I didn’t expect to deal with it post-transplant. It’s been frustrating that I can’t use my healthy lungs in the capacity that…

Over the years, I’ve had many experiences with disability accommodations, for better or for worse. I was born with cystic fibrosis (CF) and have had health challenges my entire life. After my double-lung transplant seven years ago, my health improved in some areas and declined in others. But one…

I might look like I have it all together, but right now, my belly aches, my brain is foggy, and I can’t seem to focus long enough to write this column. From the outside, I look incredible. I’m not bragging, I get this comment a lot. On the surface,…

Something specific to the cystic fibrosis (CF) world is how we talk and the words we say. After living with CF my whole life, I’ve gained insight into our speech compared with that of the able-bodied world. That awareness dramatically grew after my double-lung transplant seven years…

It feels surreal that I had a double-lung transplant seven years ago. The season of life leading up to my transplant is still present in my mind as I reflect on what I went through physically and emotionally. Going through the transplant process was traumatic. Today, I continue to…

Living with cystic fibrosis (CF) and having a double-lung transplant six years ago has naturally solicited some internal rumbling regarding my own mortality. When I joined the chronic illness community a decade ago, I didn’t expect that the friends I had made would die so soon.