Living with cystic fibrosis is a constant reminder of the things that have been taken from me. I feel like I've made a bargain with the devil, so to speak.
Site Search
Finding a Balance Between CF and High School
In a culture flooded with advertisements about the perfect body, secret weight-loss tricks and fad diets, our cultural ideals of weight are often skewed to an image that is far from healthy.
When I was 13, my family went from having two seemingly normal kids to two CF patients in a manner of a few short months -- and boy, did it change everything. Because of my late diagnosis, I faced a unique set of challenges that helped make me the strong person I am today.
After my transplant team said I was too sick to undergo a double-lung transplant, I was determined to get well enough so that I could.
Time after time, cystic fibrosis has shown me that what I thought was important could change with changing circumstances.
After turning 60, I decided to mark the milestone by creating a “living list,” 60 things I could do to raise awareness and money for cystic fibrosis care.
After two double-lung transplants my lungs don't have CF anymore, but the rest of me still does. In a very real way, CF isn't "behind me" at all. And that's why I continue to fight.
In 2008, Brandon Rees underwent lung transplantation because his lungs had deteriorated to the point that he need a healthy pair to survive.
My exercise routine has gone through quite an evolution from college to motherhood and life on the transplant list.