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1 month ago | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Brad Dell
This piece is part of a series about living with invisible illness for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. Read more here. While cystic fibrosis (CF) is an invisible illness, it can be heard. That trademark gurgling, wet, productive CF cough sets many on edge because the cause remains invisible. My cough has produced numerous awkward situations.
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1 month ago | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Brad Dell
This is part of a series about living with invisible illness for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. Go here to read more. People don’t need to explain themselves when they need to take a lunch break to eat or sleep after a long day. That would be exhausting. How much more exhausting would it be to have an energy-devouring disease, yet still feel the pressure to explain yourself every time you care for your needs, like asking for extra rest, accommodations, or a slower pace in activities?
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1 month ago | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Brad Dell
This is part of a series about living with invisible illness for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. Go here to read more. Life with an invisible illness feels like the buildup of a million social wounds. When people can’t see a disease’s effects on your body, assumptions are made, and the assumptions often aren’t flattering. We live in a competitive, fast-paced society, and it’s difficult to keep up if you’re not energized. It’s social survival of the fittest.
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1 month ago | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Brad Dell
This is part of a series about living with invisible illness for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. Go here to read more. Like many with cystic fibrosis (CF), I often feel like a burden, and believe others are tired enough without me asking them to help me out. With an invisible illness, I assume I can get by with keeping the pain quiet, suffering in silence while working hard to keep up in life. That is, until I get so sick from burnout that my invisible illness becomes visible.
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Mar 28, 2025 | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Lara Govendo |Margarida Maia |Kristin Entler |Brad Dell
I’m so tired of some people’s responses to my suffering. I understand that some people might not get what I’m going through if they don’t have personal experience living with chronic illness. But I’d think they wouldn’t voice an opinion on something they know nothing about. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. People have said things to me that are hurtful and frustrating.
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Mar 18, 2025 | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Brad Dell |Lara Govendo |William Ryan |Jennifer Bleecher
As a child I was a kicker, the type no nurse wants to be near when wielding needles and throat swabs. Eventually I’d relax my shrieking when Mom or Dad held my hand and called me brave. The nurses were then more warmly received. To be safe, they came bearing diplomatic lollipops, stickers, and another “You’re so brave.”There comes a time when the chronically ill child learns that such rewards are designed to shut them up and soften the next meltdown.
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Jennifer Bleecher |Steve Bryson |Jennifer Chamberlain |Brad Dell
This month, my beautiful daughter, Claudia, will celebrate her 29th birthday. I was 24 and living with cystic fibrosis (CF) when I became her mother. It’s now been four years since my double-lung transplant, and I’m currently fighting COVID-19 for the fourth time in four years. As the new year begins, I find myself ruminating about the miracle of Claudia turning 29. When I was born in 1971, my mother was told my life expectancy was about 12 years.
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Nov 18, 2024 | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Jennifer Bleecher |Lara Govendo |Brad Dell |Bailey Anne Vincent
They say that the older you get, the faster time passes. At 53 years old, I completely agree. As I look back at the columns I’ve written in the past, I can’t believe we’re approaching the holiday season again. Don’t get me wrong — I’m thankful for it. I’m also extremely thankful for my current stable health so that I can enjoy another holiday season. I’m thankful that my family is healthy and that we have the good fortune to easily gather to share a meal and our time.
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Oct 17, 2024 | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Steve Bryson |Brad Dell |Lindsey Shapiro |Patricia Inacio
Chronic infection with the hepatitis E virus (HEV) may be linked to pig-derived pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) who underwent lung transplants, a study found. CF patients in general had disproportionately higher rates of antibodies against HEV, regardless of transplant status, and chronic HEV infection was found solely in CF transplant recipients.
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Aug 13, 2024 | 
cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com | Jennifer Chamberlain |Marta Costa Figueiredo |Brad Dell |Steve Bryson
Most days when I start my computer, I barely glance at my home page before shutting it down. But the other day, an article title about a “glass child” caught my eye. Something was telling me to read the article. Upon reading, I learned that the term “glass child,” quite aptly, refers to a sibling of a chronically ill or disabled individual. Studies are finding that siblings of disabled children often feel invisible, lost in the shadow of their sibling’s disability.
