“Ready to get that tube out? Sam, are you ready to get that tube out? Are you in any pain? No. Are you ready to breathe on your own?” Those were among the first words I heard as my wife, Susan, sat at my bedside while my care team brought…
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Less than a year after my husband, Donnie, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, we decided to take a road trip to the suburbs of Denver to attend a memorial service for a close family friend. His family had invited us to stay for a few days, and we decided…
Water is essential to life. As UC Davis Health notes, it’s “vital to our health. It plays a key role in many of our body’s functions, including bringing nutrients to cells, getting rid of wastes, protecting joints and organs, and maintaining body temperature.” However, the source of the water we…
For the first time in more than 10 years, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) care teams and patients will have a new treatment option following the Oct. 7 approval of Jascayd (nerandomilast) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When I was diagnosed with IPF in January 2017,…
When my husband, Donnie, started exhibiting concerning symptoms in early 2021, we initially attributed it to a lack of exercise during the pandemic or possibly long COVID-19. The initial shortness of breath he experienced seemed innocent enough, so he shrugged it off as a reminder that he probably needed to…
Vaccines are a routine part of the pulmonary fibrosis (PF) journey, regardless of where you are along the path. However, recent changes in vaccine guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have caused some confusion. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary…
In just over a month, one of the largest gatherings of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) patients, caregivers, and health professionals will take place in Chicago, at the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) Summit 2025. My idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) diagnosis in January 2017 thrust my wife, Susan, and me…
My journey to a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) began in the fall of 2016, when I was 59. It all started with a persistent cough. While the cough was annoying, especially to my wife, Susan, it wasn’t limiting my day-to-day activities. After seeing a radiologist’s report, my…
In 2009, I was at a point in my career in cardiology where I’d helped save many lives. I could spell both “pulmonary” and “fibrosis” because of some early transcription work I’d done, but I didn’t know much about pulmonary fibrosis (PF). I was quickly introduced to it when my…
From the day I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in January 2017, I set out to learn everything I could about the disease. This included how to tell others about IPF, which is so named because its cause isn’t known. When a transplant isn’t a viable…
