Progressive lung diseases like pulmonary fibrosis cause ripple effects throughout the body. In PF, lung scarring prevents the organs from exchanging gases correctly, resulting in oxygen deficits known as hypoxemia and hypoxia. Chronic hypoxemia, or low oxygen levels in the blood, affects all parts of the body.
While you can’t predict an emergency, it helps to be prepared for one. Most young adults haven’t had to think about whom to notify during a medical emergency, but I have as a result of my idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Two years ago, I published a column about the importance for…
My mom, Diana, relied on a plug-in oxygen machine to breathe, and the power was going to be shut off for days. This was back in the late summer of 2019, when she was still on the lung…
Stories have been a catalyst for conversation for centuries. Generations of families are often weaved together by the narrative of a loved one’s past, and by the stories that have shaped our evolution. There is so much to learn through the stories of those who came before us. As a…
I will celebrate my two-year diagnosis anniversary on Dec. 11. On this day, which changed my life forever, I was finally diagnosed with lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia. My head was spinning when I heard these words. What is this illness? I wondered. Is it curable? It must be curable, I…
In 2014, I was living my life without a care in the world. Oh, I had a few health issues, but none that worried me at the time. Therefore, I had scheduled a vacation in Sweden for July. Little did I know I would soon be “Riding the IPF Roller…
When someone receives a life-changing diagnosis, it can feel like their world is caving in. A diagnosis changes a person’s landscape, alters their expectations, and obstructs their former worldview. Some people understand what this is like, while others, no matter how hard they try, just don’t get it.
If I could give strangers one gift, it would be that they never take their healthy lungs for granted. I’ve longed for a life with fully functioning lungs for 1,854 consecutive days. That’s how long it’s been since I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) at the age of…
Last June, my parents and I stayed in a house in San Francisco while my mom, Diana, recovered from a single-lung transplant. Note that this was 2020 — the year of COVID-19. Because I was…
I’ve been thinking a lot about growth lately. And about how even as we grow up and find out who we are, we never stop changing. It can be hard to face change or to reinvent yourself when you are comfortable with who you’ve become. In the…
Get regular updates to your inbox.
