Parents of children with cystic fibrosis may be anxious about whether a school or day care can accommodate their child's special needs. Students with CF may worry about being different from their peers. As a teacher, you can provide reassurance to both parents and students by working with them and CF health care professionals to maximize your student's overall learning experience, while helping to maintain his or her health.
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Learn about cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs, and how to treat and live with this chronic disease.
I gravitated toward a career in health care almost without thinking about it. It has been rewarding, but it has cost me too.
When I ran into a particularly difficult situation with my last job, the “d” word entered my lexicon for the first time: disability. While my life doesn't look like I thought it would, I have come to accept where I am and gained a new perspective on work and life.
As a teacher with cystic fibrosis, I find it no surprise that heading back to school can be a shock to my system. But over the years, I've learned that if I can remember three main things, I can stay healthy through the transition back to school.
After leaving a job where all of my colleagues knew that I have CF, I've chosen to stay guarded in my new work environment and not take the risk of telling anyone about CF, including my superiors.
As I have grown in my professional career, I have gone from speaking as little as I can about cystic fibrosis at work to being open about having CF and how it affects me.
Like many of my millennial compatriots, I was booted from my parents' health plan when I turned 26. While my friends were shrugging health insurance off as just another growing pain of their 20s, I was panicking.
Working in the medical field while having cystic fibrosis isn’t easy. But my occupational therapy career has helped me develop skills that make it easier for me to find a healthy balance between work and life with CF.