Charlene is a fiercely independent 30-something year-old who can’t sit still. She loves coffee, wine tasting, playing with her dog, and spending time on the beach with her family. She’s a lover of all things travel, and never passes up an opportunity for a dip in the ocean! A proud Canadian, Charlene was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in 2016 after 13 months of investigation into sudden shortness of breath, a chronic cough, and unusual fatigue. IPF has forced her to slow down, but she’s slowly learning the value of quality versus quantity in everything she does.For the third day in a row, I’ve been feeling angry with my body, particularly my lungs. I’ve been experiencing severe breathlessness. While I don’t have signs of a viral or bacterial infection, I’m struggling to hold a conversation because of my need to pause frequently. This level of…
If you’re aware of “FOMO,” you’ll know that it stands for “fear of missing out.” It can be used to describe the feeling that many people have of wanting to experience everything that life has to offer. Sometimes FOMO can lead to people compromising their physical health by depriving…
One of the reasons I enjoy traveling is its provided gift of reflection. While experiencing other cultures and countries, I ponder how I live my daily life. Since getting my idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) diagnosis, my need for control and organization has increased. It is a way that I…
Our bodies are amazing machines, but we can be hard on them sometimes. My adventurous spirit has led to some accidents and injuries, but my body always prevails. When I push myself too far, my body forces me to rest, reminding…
As I write this, my legs are elevated and I’m applying ice to my swollen feet in the small cottage I’ve rented on the southeastern side of the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Despite my aching feet, sunburned legs, tired eyes, and sore shoulders, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude. I…
Learning to live with a life-threatening, chronic lung disease as a young adult is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by irreversible and progressive scarring of the lungs, known as “fibrosis,” which ultimately diminishes a person’s ability to breathe. While the prognosis of IPF…
I’m sure that you’re familiar with the saying, “Time heals all things.” I don’t believe this is true of the grieving process. A year ago, I was texting with my friend and colleague Serena Lawrence about the terrible news she had recently received. Serena told me that she was dying…
I’ll never forget the day I was diagnosed with a terminal illness. After months of shortness of breath, a dry, chronic cough, and unusual fatigue, I finally sought an urgent care physician’s opinion about why my lungs were being so problematic. I’d tried multiple antibiotics, inhalers, and steroids to…
Patients living with a chronic illness must learn quickly to manage their medication. Access to the right treatment can be a matter of life or death, especially when talking about a rescue inhaler in response to a respiratory crisis. I’ve experienced one respiratory crisis since being diagnosed with…
I want to increase awareness about the impact on those of us with lung disease when people smoke in public places. Since being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I’ve twice inhaled secondhand smoke at the entrance of a grocery store. One of those times, I was rushed to…
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