Cystic Fibrosis - Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive tract. It is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults, and may result in early death .
I have CF .
CF currenty stands for Cystic Fibrosis, but we’re hoping that one day CF will stand for Cure Found .
Cystic Fibrosis has impacted my life forever . I have to do things that normal teens don’t have to do .
This is my life is CF. I wake up every morning & get ready & after i get ready i do my treatments. I have to do 3 different types of breathing treatments 2-3 times a day. I also do them when I get home from school or cheerleading practice, and right before I go to bed.
I have to take enzymes before anything I eat. Because my Pancreas doesn’t produce the enzyme to break down my food like y’all’s do. Without taking them, my body can’t absorb the fat from my foods. & I get these painful things called blockages. They’re the absolute worst. THEY. ARE. HELL.
I’m really skinny and small because of cf too. Like i said, my body doesn’t absorb the fat from the foods I eat, so I have to count my calories. I have to intake so many calories a day. Because everyone wants me to gain weight. I eat double portions, lol which i’m not complaining because I like to eat.
I get hospitilized a lot. I go in atleast 2 twice a year for 2 weeks for this thing they call a tune-up. I have to do this breathing test called a Pulmonary Function Test, or a pft. It measures how much air i’m bringing into my lungs. The normal is 70-120. When the numbers get below 70, that’s not good. It means i’m sick, lung sick. I’m not breathing like I should be. So i have to be put in. I’m put on IV antibiotics & so many pills. & instead of doing my breathing treatments twice a day, in the hospital I do them 4 times a day. Yeah. I’ve lived probably like half my life in a hospital. But, it’s alright because over the years I’ve gotten to know all the nurses very well & all of the respitory therapists, so I have a pretty good relationship with them all. They’re family, & they’ve literally watched me grow up. They’re my moms & dads.
Daily, I have to take so many pills. Let’s see… When i wake up I have to take a steriod, not the kind you think of. A kind to help with my lungs, I have to take 3 of those a day. Then, I have to take an iron supliment, 2 anibiotic pills twice a day, a migraine pill before bed every night because I get like, the worst migraines ever, and then I take 4-5 enzymes before every meal and 2 with snacks. I have an asthamtic inhaler for like, on-the-go stuff.
I have to take my meds & do my treatments if I want to live. I’ve realized that if I don’t do it, I could die. I want to live long. The life expectancy for people with cf is 35. I want to live longer. I want to graduate from med school, go move to the city, get married, have kids. I want to be able to see my kids graduate highschool, college, get married. I want to meet my grandkids. I want to live.
I’ve never let this illness define who I am. & I never will. My parents were told when I was born that I wasn’t going to make it through my first night, to be expecting to get back to the hospital the next day & me not be alive anymore.
THEY TOLD MY GRANDMA TO TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES OF ME BECAUSE I WOULDN’T BE HERE WHEN SHE GOT BACK THE NEXT DAY.
They were told if they was any chance that I did survive, I wouldn’t be able to do any. No sports, i would fall behind in school & not be able to learn like the other students, I wouldn’t develop right. Well, it’s 16 years later, & I’ve defeated all odds. I’m still here, something that my doctors never expected.
I do everything they told me I couldn’t. I cheer competitively, I play soccer, I can play the clarinet, i’m an honors and AP student.
I try to live as normal as I can.
But Cystic Fibrosis will NEVER defeat me, it hasn’t yet. I’ve beat Cystic Fibrosis so many times in my life when it has threatened my life, & I will continue to prove everyone wrong. Just watch me.
