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  • When Others See You As: “Brave, Courageous, Strong”, etc.

    Posted by Charlene Marshall on September 13, 2018 at 7:17 am

    Does it bother you when others call you “brave” for enduring a life with pulmonary fibrosis (PF)?

    Recently, a close friend of mine commented on how strong and how brave I am for facing my chronic illness head-on. While her intentions were good (as they always are), I was a little bothered because I simply kept thinking: what other choice do I have?

    I have been pretty open about my fight against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) since I was diagnosed in early 2016, but that isn’t in an effort to have others think of me as courageous, brave, strong, etc. It is simply because I have to live with this disease, since there is no cure, and sharing it with others so they have an idea of what I am going through is easier (and takes less effort) then trying to keep it a secret.

    Unfortunately, IPF is also an illness that is grossly underfunded and a disease that far too many people are unaware of or it is misunderstood. This is another reason I choose to share my story; in hopes that more people will become aware of this fatal lung disease. I don’t share my story for people to look at my with tearful eyes and voice how unfair it is that I am 30 years old and living with a life-threatening lung disease, because I am well aware of this.

    I also don’t want to be called brave, courageous or strong, and thats because I didn’t opt for this life. It happened, and I am dealing with it, just like the other 40,000+ people in the US alone who face this illness everyday of their lives. What other choice do we have? We cannot curl up in a ball and not to continue living. Bills need paying, errands need running and people need our love; we can’t just stop all of these things because of our diagnosis. In my experience anyway, life just doesn’t work that way: it has to go on regardless of what we’re facing. As a result, I am occasionally bothered when people say I am strong or brave for living with IPF.

    Has this ever happened to you?

    What are your thoughts on when people tell you facing your illness is brave, courageous, etc?

    I’d love to hear from you!

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