Cystic Fibrosis

My childhood best friend has cystic fibrosis and so he was diagnosed when he was about six months and we've been friends since we were in like second grade so I've watched him do all his treatments and you know he has to take enzymes and stuff and so I've been with him throughout his whole journey and just to see him grow and going through the hard times and the good times but I think that my message of encouragement would be to hang in there. He's lucky enough to try out Trikefta and it's worked for him and he's been able to mitigate some of the symptoms but he's been able to find happiness and meaning in life and not let cystic fibrosis define him. He's a beacon of strength in my life.

Having cystic fibrosis or any chronic disease can be demoralizing. You're coughing in public. You have weight fluctuations. You might just generally feel broken sometimes, but there's hope. There's an ancient Japanese art by the name of Kintsugi, and Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. So all these pieces that fall apart get lacquered together and the seams and the mends are interwoven with gold and it's beautiful. So next time you feel like you're broken and people are looking at you as though you're diseased and sick, remember that they're not seeing you as someone shattered in a million pieces. They're seeing you more beautiful because of the pain and struggle that you went through.