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The path to lung transplant is different for everyone, depending on their disease and how it progresses. My mom got very sick very fast. I found out that she would try to get listed, and 10 stressful weeks later, she had new lungs. What may be an extended…

As a patient living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I can’t count the number of times that close friends and family members have asked me to describe what this disease feels like. While I do my best to share my experience with IPF, I’ve been unsatisfied with the explanations I’ve…

After being diagnosed with a devastating disease like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), life tends to come to a momentary halt. I was OK mentally after the initial diagnosis, but I then contracted respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in January 2015. This secondary illness, caused by my IPF diagnosis,…

Waiting for my mom, Holly, to receive a life-saving lung transplant has allowed me endless opportunity to explore the dynamics of fear and courage — something you will likely have picked up on if you’ve read any of my previous columns. These feelings have been the driving forces…

Sadly, many patients living with a life-threatening illness are likely familiar with a magnitude of feelings, fears, and emotions. There is no instruction manual on how to navigate life-threatening with a lung disease like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). I’ll never forget when doctors told me that due to my…

As an ex-college football player, I get goosebumps over the sweet smell of freshly cut grass in the fall — a sign that football season is upon us. It’s too bad that it puts me at risk for a potentially deadly disease: aspergillosis. Aspergillosis is a fungal disease caused…

In January 2018, I lost my cousin to lung cancer. It was at stage 4 by the time he was diagnosed, and his decline was rapid and unexpected. One day, he was fine, and the next, he was gone. I had never lost someone so close to me, and it…

An unfortunate reality of living with a chronic illness is that most people will never fully understand your experience. They can’t understand the complexity of living with a chronic lung disease or other debilitating chronic illnesses. Even when someone else has the same diagnosis as you, their experience likely…

An integral part of my recovery from single-lung transplant surgery is the close monitoring of lab results. My case is even more interesting because I have autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Simply explained, my red and white blood cells and platelets are significantly lower than those of someone who…

Each person’s experience of having a sick parent is different. For me, it was relatively easy until my mom’s condition became a crisis. From the start, I refused to research any terms that I’d overheard. I didn’t want to know what Dr. Google had to say about “interstitial lung…