I thought I was well-prepared to have my third baby boy, but when Oliver was diagnosed with CF, everything I knew went out the window. Though the journey has been isolating at times, my family has found our new normal with support from others in the CF community.
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We couldn’t wait to take our daughter home from the hospital. But when the time finally came to bring my daughter home, I began to lose confidence in myself as I tried handling all the medications and formula. With time, I built a great routine for my family and learned some tips and tricks to share with other new parents.
Having to isolate from our loved ones after the birth of our first child -- right as the COVID-19 outbreak hit our community -- was doubly difficult, but with a little education, our support network came through for us.
As a community, we are very good at masking and keeping a safe distance to reduce risk from germs. And just like we have highly effective therapies to treat CF, we now have highly effective vaccines to protect our kids from COVID-19.
My service dog, Jasper, and I relocated across the country and began to find our footing in our new home just before devastating forest fires started spreading around the area. Now, I feel more grateful than ever for the irreplaceable things in life, like Jasper.
I was not emotionally prepared the first time I saw my daughter in her vest. But now, I am thankful to have this device as a part of our daily routine to keep her lungs healthy.
During COVID, it became apparent who in our lives supported the decisions we made for my wife’s health.
At first, it was easy to get my son to do his cystic fibrosis treatments. But as he got older, he started to hide his medications, rather than take them. I finally learned how to get him to see the importance of taking his medications.
I spent 2020 in COVID-19 quarantine and in the hospital separated from my family while waiting for transplant. I'm very grateful that the call came and I have new lungs -- and a new life.