We Don’t Get Used to Disease, So We Still Need Your Support
Bradley was a dramatic kid. I’d sit up in bed at night, unable to lie down because it made me cough, and wonder whether Prometheus ever became used to having his liver pecked…
Victorious — Brad Dell
Brad Dell is Deaf and was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 2 months old in 1993. He received a double-lung transplant from UC San Francisco in January 2017, then cochlear implants nine months later. He lives in Hawaii, where he was raised. Usually he’s traveling the world, chugging coffee, or devouring books. He also pastors Restoration Community Church and serves as the director of community content at Bionews, this site’s publisher.
Featured Post
Am I making excuses or simply explaining my reality with CF?
I’ve been trying to write more. I promise. But my tacrolimus dose is pretty up there, and it’s getting on my nerves. Literally. Nerve pain from the medication, an immunosuppressant used in…
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Why Rare Disease Communities Must Stand United
“You need space at the table for five wheelchairs?” The waitress’s eyes exploded from her skull, shocked to the degree I’d expect if I were to…
Are Anger and Fear Villains, or Must We Acknowledge Them to Thrive?
It’s been almost three years since a port-a-cath infection nearly killed me. A fungal infection invaded my bloodstream and attempted murder, shutting down my organs and blasting me into a dimension of hallucination…
Screwed Over Expectations, Pura Vida, and a New Normal
I was fully deaf, too weak to walk across my living room (I couldn’t reach my upstairs bedroom anymore), constantly coughing and vomiting, soaked in sweat and wheezing, too anxious to face friends,…
In Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, I Look Back to Anticipate the Future
The night I received my first Hill-Rom Vest — at age 5 — was a fun one. It was a beast of a machine in the mid-1990s, a white box weighing maybe 50…
Here’s What It Feels Like to Have Cystic Fibrosis
There’s a rattle in my chest when I inhale. I sweat and dig my nails into my palm. I feel it, microseconds of dread and fear as the rattling gives way to something like…
Why I Shout My Story
A dad at the church I attend came up to me and said his newborn daughter had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. He looked tired; his motivation for telling me was mostly…
The Scenes in ‘Five Feet Apart’ that Tore My Heart
Heard enough about “Five Feet Apart” yet? I know you’re begging to read just one more piece about it, right? I saw the movie about a week after its release and wasn’t…
‘CFer’ or ‘Person with CF’? I’m a CFer and Proud of It
Note: I do not write on behalf of the entire CF community. No one does. This is about my preference. The most amusing, yet irritating, thing a person without chronic…
I’m Getting Better at Detecting Depression’s Creep and Shooing It Away
I shoulda seen it coming. (That’s what I always say in hindsight, once it hits.) Maybe I shoulda known when five people at church told me I look “really, really tired.” Perhaps…
Don’t Distance Yourself from Your OG Carers
We sat in pristine sands shadowed by titanic sentries dubbed The Twelve Apostles. At the southern end of Australia, I assume they guard against Antarctic penguins, like how The Wall in…
Brad Dell: The Man Without Fear, Almost
Imagine how much easier cystic fibrosis (CF) would be if we didn’t have fears. What if we stared death in the eye and laughed? Age 23 was destined to be…
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