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.
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) Summit 2025 began for me with a nonstop flight from Washington, D.C., to Chicago during the longest government shutdown in the history of the U.S. I was resolved to be in Chicago for the summit, so I had backup plans that included taking the…
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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…
Have you seen the T-shirt or sign that reads “Keep Calm and Carry On” (KCCO)? You might be surprised to learn the story behind this phrase. Created in 1939, it was part of a three-poster series intended to boost morale during World War II. Ironically, the Keep Calm…
We’re not all the same. When I share details about my journey with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I don’t want to give the impression that I’m setting a standard. My goal in writing this column is to share my experiences, which may or may not be similar to others.
Grief is a universally understood emotion. How that emotion is individually expressed is unique. When I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I was 59 years old. I’d experienced loss by then, both family and friends. I cannot bundle grief. In my own unique style, I grieve…
How big is the internet? I could just say that it’s big, but I want to provide some facts to shed additional light on the topic. According to Health IT, the internet is anticipated to reach 175 zettabytes in size in 2025. In my world, I deal in gigabytes on…
Rapidly spreading wildfires have taken over the news headlines from the Los Angeles area, as I write this column. Dry weather and the Santa Ana winds joined forces to create an inferno there. Wildfires are just one emergency that the pulmonary fibrosis (PF) community must be prepared to…
Do you make resolutions for the new year? A revealing joke on the subject has been around for years. In it, an entrepreneur opens and stocks a gym on New Year’s Day to support those who’ve made resolutions to exercise. After the first two weeks, though, the gym equipment is…
The holidays have arrived, which reminds of those passenger-side mirrors that read, “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” It wasn’t too long ago that the holidays seemed far away, yet here they are. After I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in 2017, my health…
Good grief! When I hear this two-word phrase, I often associate it with the cartoon character Charlie Brown. Otherwise, the words “good” and “grief” seldom seem to belong together. What do you do with grief amid the holiday season? If you’ve been reading my columns for some time,…
Welcome to December. Wait, what? How is it December? Time seemed to move in slow motion during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it’s already the end of 2024. In 1974, the Rolling Stones released “Time Waits for No One.” One line sums it up: “Time…
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