Although I'm self-reliant, after I experienced a trauma, I realized that it was okay to ask for help.
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I have found that using simple techniques help me cope much more effectively with cystic fibrosis -- and all that can go along with it.
When you are waiting to be listed for a lung transplant, it can feel like you're in limbo. Through the many frustrations and uncertainties, I've learned that it's important to get support -- not only for my physical health, but for my emotional health as well.
My pulmonary function test results are important in telling me about my cystic fibrosis, but it's only one measure of my overall health.
Although my journey with cystic fibrosis has been difficult, over time, I have learned to embrace it. In my poem “Monster,” I address this head on and describe my own process of coming to terms with my disease.
Practicing meditation has helped me cope with many of the stresses that come with a life with cystic fibrosis.
As a teenager with cystic fibrosis, I always felt that my body was different, and therefore, shameful. But in one day, I had a change of perspective that allowed me to love myself and appreciate how far I've come in my journey with CF.
I may not have chosen to have cystic fibrosis, but I did get to choose my outlook on life and -- ultimately -- my perspective.
Not having a roadmap for life wasn't a problem when I thought I wouldn't be around long enough to take the trip. A double lung-transplant has me rethinking this belief.
Although I asked for help to manage the physical aspects of my disease, it took a long time for me to feel comfortable asking for support for the emotional impact of cystic fibrosis.