On Jan. 18, Larry Runyon passed away at 76. Larry was a warrior fighting idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) for more than 15 years. He’s certainly not the first person I’ve known who has passed because of IPF, but he is the first one to pass whom I’ve known for…
Make Every Breath Count
— Samuel Kirton
Sam Kirton started his column in November 2021 and writes from his home at Lake Anna, Virginia, where he lives with his wife Susan. His diagnosis at age 59 with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in January 2017 began a journey of awareness and advocacy. Sam was listed for a lung transplant on March 19, 2021 and received a bilateral lung transplant on July 10, 2021. This was quite the change from his career as a special agent for the Office of Special Investigations and as a corporate security executive. Sam plans to share his journey so you, too, can make every breath count. You can follow Sam’s thoughts on LinkedIn.
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Storytelling is a learning tool as old as time. History is made up of eyewitness accounts and recollections of a certain time or place, often augmented by official records. I’ve seen discussions recently on social media and in the Pulmonary Fibrosis News Forums asking for people to describe the…
There are certain moments in our lives when a single event becomes indelibly etched into our memory. And the significance of such moments is dictated by each of us. Think about that for a minute. What moments are etched into your memory? Have you dealt with the loss of a…
Minutes after I’m wheeled into the operating room, everyone stops — a timeout. Lying on my back with an awesome view of the ceiling, the calm and quiet of the room are very noticeable. I’d been connected to various leads, used to monitor everything from my heart rhythm to my…
Shortly after I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I was on a walk and spotted a leaf in the shape of a heart. For some reason, the beauty of it struck me. It was a sign; nature had left me a message. I collected the leaf and…
During the early days of my diagnosis, I didn’t want people to be sad. Yes, my diagnosis was not a cause for celebration, but sadness was not going to change it. If I could be positive, especially in my view of the future, I might help others be less…
“You have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.” January marks six years since those five words changed my life. Late in 2022, I began a long overdue project renovating my home office, which had been delayed by procrastination. While doing so, I came across a journal I had started writing around the…
Last January, I started a column with the following: “’Every day is a new adventure!’ This is often my response when someone asks how I’m doing. It also seems appropriate when looking forward to what 2022 may hold for me.” Coincidentally, as I sat…
With just a few days remaining before Christmas, not much has changed this year in the search for a cure for pulmonary fibrosis (PF). Scientists continue to pursue theories searching for a clue that will lead to a cure or even more effective therapies. But even research that does…
How is it December already? In the retail world, the holiday season seems to begin earlier every year. It felt like ads for Thanksgiving and Christmas started airing around Labor Day this year here in the United States. Last year, I noticed my thoughts turned to my donor family more…
The holiday season is upon us! Here in the United States, Thanksgiving was last week, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade heralded the arrival of Santa Claus. But November, for the past two years, has been a month of loss for me. COVID-19 and transplant In March 2020, the reality…
The pulmonary fibrosis (PF) patient population would likely become unhinged without the oversight of our caregivers. They have one of the hardest roles in the PF community. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in January 2017, my wife, Susan, was sitting by my side. For…
Rail travel has long been shrouded in both mystery and romance. English novelist Agatha Christie famously wrote “Murder on the Orient Express,” a tale of intrigue involving one of her most famous characters, Hercule Poirot. American singer-songwriter Steve Goodman originally wrote and recorded “City of New Orleans,” a song about…
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