At 26, I was in and out of the hospital with bouts of pain and coughing up blood, with doctors telling me I had pancreatitis. It took a trip to a new hospital — and advocating for my health — before I finally got my correct cystic fibrosis diagnosis.
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I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis late; and the anger I felt was contagious for my son, who was dealing with his own diagnosis. But, I found support and am now focusing on the things in my life that I can control.
Funding will support preclinical research and early-stage clinical trials
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s investment will go toward conducting preclinical research on a novel gene delivery vehicle. If successful, this gene delivery method could overcome some of the biggest challenges to delivering a gene therapy into the lung cells of people with cystic fibrosis.
As I continue to realize the benefits of Trikafta® and my daughter grows up and needs me less, I feel as though I’m losing key parts of my identity — being a person with cystic fibrosis and a mother. However, I’m also finding I have room to let myself grow and explore different sides of myself.
When I was in college, I wanted to do it all and my health wasn’t as much of a priority anymore. I learned to accept that things will not always go according to plan and to integrate routine in my life to ensure my health comes first.
Learning that my daughter has cystic fibrosis has been a struggle for me and my family, especially as I deal with postpartum depression.
I underwent liver and kidney transplants in 2021 after a successful lung transplant in 2012. For a number of reasons, the recovery from second transplant was much more difficult.
As someone who does not qualify for Trikafta®, I took particular interest in the first plenary of the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, which discussed potential treatments for people with nonsense and rare mutations. I learned that researchers are exploring a variety of options, and some early research has shown promising results.
If you receive financial assistance from Vertex GPS™ for a modulator therapy (e.g., Trikafta®, Symdeko®, Orkambi®, or Kalydeco®), you may be impacted by changes Vertex has made to its copay assistance program. The following tips can help you understand how you may be impacted and what next steps may be available to you.