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‘Five Feet Apart’ Resonates as a Patient with Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Typically speaking I am not someone who regularly goes to see a movie in theater. I am just as content staying home and watching a new release from the comfort of my own home, while using some kind of legal steaming app or movie rental connected to my TV. There are a couple of reasons for this:
- The cost of seeing a movie in theater (to get the full experience, including snacks) can be quite expensive. I also find the theater volume incredibly high, and I have some fear around loud noises due to previous ICU admissions and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Therefore, if I do attend the theater, I prefer to go with someone who knows this vulnerability about me and can support me through it if needed.
- Since my diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) I am very mindful of staying healthy and take extra precautions to avoid known exposure to illness. The theater is a perfect place to unknowingly pick up a virus/bug, so I try to avoid going whenever possible. Or at the very least, I wear my mask and overuse hand-santizers!
However, upon hearing about the release of Five Feet Apart – a new movie portraying the struggles of young adults living with cystic fibrosis (CF), I knew I’d have to see this in theater. While I don’t have CF, I suspected that I’d be able to relate to the content of this movie; especially the difficulty of being tethered to an oxygen tank as a young adult living with a chronic lung disease. To say the movie was relatable as a young adult with IPF would be an understatement. I loved (and hated, for various reasons) this movie and have no regrets seeing it in theater. If you enjoy watching movies in theater, I’d encourage you to see this but bring some Kleenex with you.
I wrote about my experience watching this film in a recent column titled Five Feet Apart Hits Home For Patients with Pulmonary Fibrosis. I also want to share a column from a friend of mine with CF (post transplant now) who shared his thoughts on the movie as well, in a column called The Scenes in Five Feet Apart that Tore My Heart.
As a patient with PF/IPF: do you have plans to see this film?
Why or why not?
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