Leave no stone unturned. This is a basic tenet of any investigation, something I learned very early in my career as a special agent. It also seems to be a practice employed by my healthcare team, which now includes an additional doctor. Last week, I added endocrinologist Oksana Davydov…
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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I’ve been writing recently about the four pillars of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s (PFF) new five-year strategic plan introduced last year, called “The PFF Is ME.” In December, I explained the first pillar, Accelerate Research. The second pillar, Expand Access to Expert Care, is a concern for…
Disrupting the rhythm of day-to-day life with pulmonary fibrosis comes at a cost. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in January 2017, my medications changed dramatically. I went from taking only Zyrtec (cetirizine hydrochloride) for seasonal allergies to requiring multiple meds that…
My adventure continues. At this point, regular readers might be thinking, “What now?” Some may even pause to make some popcorn before reading further. I was surprised when I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2017, because I had led a relatively healthy life. Deciding to be positive on…
As of April 11, almost 105,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant in the U.S., according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. Of those, 993 are waiting for a lung transplant. In the past year, 879 lung transplants were performed. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic…
Have you discovered the Pulmonary Fibrosis News Forums yet? Think of them as a virtual café where you can stop in and read a couple of items from the discussion areas, comment on questions from others, or pose a question to the group. Each time a new member joins,…
One of the lessons idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has taught me is that not everything will go as planned. For that reason, this past weekend we celebrated Halloween and One-Half (which we call HH). Flexibility is important to everyone on this journey. Let me explain. Before my IPF…
Living with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is not for the faint of heart. That applies equally to patients, caregivers, and loved ones. While each of us is on a unique journey, there are times when support is necessary. I have shared before that when I was diagnosed with idiopathic…
It was five years ago this month that COVID-19 was beginning to consume the headlines. Around the world, those headlines provided an early view of what a pandemic might look like here in the U.S. In fact, five years ago school systems here began shutting down because of the threat.
Do you ever have one of those days? You know the kind: Nothing seems to go your way and the day ends with a huge sigh. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, I learned that not every day would be sunshine and roses. Last Wednesday was a…
Fraternal organizations have long been a part of colleges and universities. It’s not uncommon to find an area around campus labeled as Greek Row. These organizations allow like-minded individuals to join together, taking hold even beyond college campuses. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in…
Here in the U.S., there is an effort underway to reduce the size of the government. You may not know that, in addition to writing this column, I’m also a senior moderator for the Pulmonary Fibrosis News Forums. I recently started a discussion about the government downsizing and asked:…
Winter storm warning. Those three simple words never bothered me much until I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Afterward, those words defeated me. They were an indication of things I could no longer do. Snow, especially deep snow, was too much for me. That all came back…
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