Just Breathe…Compassionate Help for the PF Journey
Kim Fredrickson was an Author, Blogger and Marriage and Family Therapist. She lived in Northern CA, with her husband of 40 years and had 2 adult children. Kim was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis in May 2014, as a rare complication from chemotherapy and radiation for breast cancer. Kim is the author of Pulmonary Fibrosis Journey: A Counselor and Fellow Patient Walks with You, The Power of Positive Self-Talk, and Give Your Kids a Break: Parenting with Compassion for You and Your Children. Kim believed that learning to advocate for yourself with kindness and compassion, just as you would for a good friend, makes this difficult journey a little easier. In her patient column on Pulmonary Fibrosis News, she offered practical ideas to help us care for ourselves, fight for what we need, and process our many-layered emotions. Kim passed away in 2019, but her inspirational work advocating for the IPF community continues to inspire and endure.
One of my goals as a pulmonary fibrosis patient is to stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Regularly exercising has helped me immensely. I actually feel ... Read more
I don’t know about you, but I’m continually aware of my limited time on this earth. Using my time wisely is very important to me. I’ve been working on several ... Read more
My 95-year-old father died last week. He’d been battling cancer on and off for the last eight years. He was a wonderful father and grandfather. I’m so blessed to have ... Read more
As PF progresses, it is wise to address how long to keep working. It is common to wonder: How do I know when to stop? When is work harmful to ... Read more
A pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis is difficult, to say the least. You need kindness, not just for others, but also for yourself. It helps to be compassionate with yourself during the ... Read more
Two years ago, I let my colleagues know that I was closing my counseling practice of 30 years due to serious health concerns. A therapist I’d collaborated with in the ... Read more
Treating one’s self with tender care is especially important to pulmonary fibrosis patients and their families. Medical tests, clinic visits, long-term illness management, and a shortened lifespan are difficult, unpleasant, ... Read more
I am learning to hold onto things loosely. To me, holding things loosely as a PF patient means being active in the pursuit of my health, taking care of things ... Read more
Two weeks ago, I went to the University of California, San Francisco for my last test for lung transplant evaluation. I had a left heart and right heart catheterization to test the ... Read more
Dealing with a serious chronic illness like pulmonary fibrosis can be highly stressful, to say the least. Absorbing the seriousness of our illness, alongside dealing with repeated clinic visits, tests, ... Read more