As a social worker, my career has been primarily focused on crisis intervention and psychiatric hospitalizations for those with mental illness. It wasn't until I received a double-lung transplant that I learned firsthand just how important mental health and trauma management can be.
Site Search
Cystic fibrosis has brought countless treatments, hospitalizations, and hardships, leaving me with an overwhelming amount of emotions. When I found painting, not only did I find a new hobby, but I learned a way to escape by turning my emotions into artwork.
My life after a 2011 lung transplant was going along smoothly -- until chronic rejection and the wait for new lungs while hospitalized took me to my physical and emotional limits.
Individuals with cystic fibrosis and other chronic diseases often have a “hidden” loss of muscle mass, despite normal body weight and BMI. Increasing your protein intake and exercising regularly are easy ways to preserve muscle mass.
Although I'm self-reliant, after I experienced a trauma, I realized that it was okay to ask for help.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has renewed its commitment to supporting the health and well-being of adults living with cystic fibrosis by supporting free access to the online exercise, education, and well-being platform, Beam.
I have found that using simple techniques help me cope much more effectively with cystic fibrosis -- and all that can go along with it.
When you are waiting to be listed for a lung transplant, it can feel like you're in limbo. Through the many frustrations and uncertainties, I've learned that it's important to get support -- not only for my physical health, but for my emotional health as well.
My pulmonary function test results are important in telling me about my cystic fibrosis, but it's only one measure of my overall health.
Although my journey with cystic fibrosis has been difficult, over time, I have learned to embrace it. In my poem “Monster,” I address this head on and describe my own process of coming to terms with my disease.