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As a patient with pulmonary fibrosis I try to come up with ways to calm myself calm when I’m distressed, discouraged, scared or in pain. Dealing with this diagnosis gives me plenty of opportunities. The need to soothe ourselves when distressed occurs…

This is difficult for me to write. Since being diagnosed with IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis), I sometimes struggle to find empathy when others are sick with common ailments such as a cold, sore throat, headache, etc. I really dislike this about myself. In fact, writing about this…

I have a love-hate relationship with the need to be strong on this journey with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. It is important to be strong, but I think it is equally important not to show, or attempt to show, strength, especially when you don’t feel very strong. People sometimes…

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,…