Despite my knowledge of cystic fibrosis, I was scared when my son was diagnosed with the disease. I already had a toddler and worried how I would balance her needs with his medical care. Now that he is a year old, I realize my fears were worse than reality.
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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.
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.
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Addressing variability in newborn screening can prevent missed diagnoses and delays in early care intervention.
I began fundraising and raising CF awareness soon after my son, Aidan, was diagnosed as a baby. After years of successful fundraiser walks, Aidan asked me to stop — opening my eyes to the difference between being a mom of someone with CF and being the person who is living with CF.
I had no idea what cystic fibrosis was — or that I had it — until six months of pancreatitis led to a diagnosis.
In 2020, I went from having almost no knowledge about cystic fibrosis to the shocking revelation that I've actually been battling CF my entire life. At 53 years old, I'm still a work in progress, but I'm facing this new diagnosis head-on.
I was heartbroken when I learned my baby would be born with cystic fibrosis. However, my son's CF care team changed my perspective and connected me with other mothers of children with CF who became lifelines of support for me.
We've only lived with our daughter Louisa's CF diagnosis for six months. Besides adjusting to her treatments and care needs, our priority has also been to talk openly about this new normal with Louisa's older brother -- in ways a 3-year-old can understand.