Introductions

Once upon a time in a land far from home lived a girl...

Now, this girl was not a princess. She wasn't a peasant with a secret love affair with a prince. She wasn't even an evil stepmother. She was just a girl attending college. But this girl had a special reason for being proud of her situation.

You see, this girl has Cystic Fibrosis. Most people with Cystic Fibrosis have trouble being away from home in a new climate by themselves. Keeping track of lung function, appetite, weight gain/loss, sinus pressure and infection as well as college work isn’t easy by anyone’s standards.

Well, one day this girl decided to start a blog for awareness of her disease. The more she thought about it, the more she seemed to want to do it. She really believed she could change the world—raise awareness until a cure was found and when the inventor of the cure was accepting prizes, money, and fame, they would point to her and say, “I couldn’t have done it without the awareness raised by that girl!” The crowd would go wild and thousands of people with Cystic Fibrosis would ask for her autograph. They’d put her on billboards and talk shows and eventually she would become the face of Cystic Fibrosis, a poster child before graduating college.

…

Well, okay, maybe that wouldn’t happen, but awareness is always a good thing on such sensitive subjects. As is customary, I believe an introduction is at hand here.

Myself in the hospital, October 2009

That girl in the story was, of course, me. I am currently living in Idaho attending my second semester of college. I have known about having Cystic Fibrosis for 12 years now. I was diagnosed at about 6 years old, so for those of you who like numbers, I have known for 2/3 of my life now. I have a very mild case and it doesn’t seem fair to me that I have it so easy, but I do deal with some of the challenges. I don’t like to focus on that, though. I like to think of the positive parts, such as using CF as the topic for projects and papers in high school and college or inspiring others to do the same. I like to spread the word, not the hurt, so this is going to be exactly what the doctor ordered. (Not literally. I may not be as good at the doctor’s orders as I like to think I am…)

My goal is to raise awareness about Cystic Fibrosis. I really believe if more people are aware and more people are willing to help in every way they can, that we can make the lives of those dealing with the disease easier as well as eventually find a cure for the disease. That is my purpose as the girl with Cystic Fibrosis.

Keep Hope,

Cystic Sister @----