I grew up thinking I would never be able to have children because of my CF. While advancements in treatments have made motherhood a possibility for many, I ultimately made the painful decision to not have children.
Site Search
My wife and I knew that following our dream of having children would be difficult, but we would do whatever it takes to grow our family. Despite the challenges we’ve experienced on our in-vitro fertilization (IVF) journey, we will continue to fight to make our dream a reality.
I felt unrelenting hope watching the first plenary of this year’s North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference. As I learned about progress that has been made in sickle cell disease, and how those learnings may help us develop a genetic therapy for CF, it showed me that the CF community is supporting people like me who can’t take modulators.
Nonprofit issues challenge to accelerate treatments for every person with CF
Today, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced that it awarded funding to enGene Inc. to develop a customized vehicle to deliver genetic-based therapies, such as gene therapy and gene editing, into the lung cells of people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Delivering genetic-based therapies to the lungs is a key hurdle to developing effective treatments for all people with CF, including individuals with two nonsense and rare mutations.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has awarded up to $3 million to Kinnear Pharmaceuticals to conduct preclinical testing of a broad-spectrum anti-infective that has the potential to treat multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas and other infections in people with cystic fibrosis.
After my daughter’s cystic fibrosis diagnosis, I knew I still wanted more than one child. But, the journey trying to conceive my second child was stressful and emotional.
Breastfeeding a child comes with a lot of challenges, dedication, and love. Breastfeeding a child with cystic fibrosis brings all of these aspects to a different level. As a first-time mom wanting to breastfeed exclusively, here’s what I have learned while breastfeeding my son, Isaac.
I was determined to make my dream of becoming a mother a reality despite the potential risks that pregnancy can cause for people living with CF. It certainly wasn’t easy, but the challenges of pregnancy and CF were rewarding in the end because I now have two wonderful girls who call me mom.