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As we head into this New Year I wanted to take some time to thank all the caregivers who help us live with pulmonary fibrosis. It is easy for me to be aware of all I’m dealing with as a result of this illness, and unintentionally minimize the…

It would be easy to make this column about the difficulties that come with living with IPF. In fact, several possible topics for this post were about just that, including: How exhausting the holidays are with IPF; how shopping for the holidays in large crowds of people sends…

So what is grief? Isn’t it just lots of crying? That is such a normal question. Grief is the process of letting go of someone or something that was deeply important to you. Grief is very different for each person, and comes in waves…

There is so much to adjust to when you’ve been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. For me the biggest adjustment has been the diagnosis itself, with it’s dismal future. Then there’s medical tests, oxygen, tiredness, change in functioning at home and work, grief, and a…

Last week I shared how important it is to make friends with your emotions, especially as a pulmonary fibrosis patient. I’ve been wading through a boatload of very difficult emotions since being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis two and a half…

I still remember the day my doctor diagnosed me with pulmonary fibrosis I was hit with a ton of emotions, all at once. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. I was confused, incredibly sad, angry and disoriented. I felt one emotion, then another and then a third…

Typically speaking, I pride myself on consciously choosing not to express hatred toward anyone or anything. It is my personal belief that the word hate is overused in our society, and that it can have terribly negative effects on people overall, impacting the general mood, creating a toxic work place,…

We just celebrated Thanksgiving in the United States, and I am feeling a lot of gratitude that I am still in the land of the living this holiday season. What a blessing each day and each breath is! Of course, keeping…

As a typical Canadian winter commenced with vengeance this weekend, bringing blistery cold winds, snow and ice, I find myself both fearful and anxious about how my lungs will fare throughout these upcoming months. While I have never been someone who has loved winter, I do appreciate the…

Hello Pulmonary Fibrosis Community! Technology is amazing! For a little over a year Facebook has been allowing its members to do live videos from their pages. I tried this out on my own Facebook page about three months ago, and am really enjoying being able to reach out and…