Newly Diagnosed: You Are Not Alone on Your Journey

Columnist Kim Fredrickson shares self-care tips for pulmonary fibrosis (PF) patients, saying that taking good care of herself makes a huge difference. It eases the losses and fears she experiences when she’s able to treat herself with the kindness and compassion she would give a friend.

Columnist Christie Patient shares ways caregivers can prepare to care for a loved one during and after transplant. If you are able to plan ahead, she recommends being proactive with research and planning. Overpreparation is better than being overwhelmed.

Both Christie and her mom, Holly, have incorporated breathing exercises into their recoveries. Christie explains why they are such an important part of pulmonary rehabilitation. Practicing these when you have pulmonary fibrosis helps your pulmonary system remain strong.

Kim shares tips she’s written for doctors to urge them to help patients cope with pulmonary fibrosis and give the best possible treatment. These include treating patients like people and not just a condition. Listen, educate, explain, encourage, and be patient.

Columnist Charlene Marshall has learned a lot of life lessons since she was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis three years ago. We learn the most important lessons in the most difficult times, she says, and here she shares some of the lessons her diagnosis has taught her.

Kim shares the difficulty of deciding when to stop working as PF progresses and questions to ask when considering if it’s time. It’s not an easy decision to make, but the time you have left is precious, and you deserve to make the most of that time.