"CF is a Thief" by Faith Miller

CF is brutal. The medications, the coughing, the exacerbations, the lung damage, it’s all extremely difficult to deal with. There are some days when it seems to take so much that it feels hard to keep moving forward.

In December of 2022, I got what I thought was just a little cold, but I then ended up hospitalized later in March of 2023. Though I hadn’t been hospitalized in just over five years, that was the first time that I was unable to get back up to my FEV1 baseline of 45% and stayed at 37%. Over the last two years, I have watched that number continue to dip down. And as it goes down, CF steals more and more from me.

It stole my breath when I came down with a lung infection that left me barely able to speak. It stole a trip to Belize (twice)! It stole my confidence to audition for a show at my community theater. It stole even more of my time to do additional airway clearance therapies, and it stole my hope for a future without a transplant.

Even though CF seems to steal so much away, it cannot take everything. CF stole my trips to Belize, but it didn’t steal my trip to Mexico to watch my brother get married. CF stole my breath in Mexico thanks to the high elevation, but it didn’t steal the fact that I looked amazing in my hot pink dress. CF stole my time, but I use that time to be productive and read books, write, or work on my independent voiceover projects. CF stole a significant portion of my lung function numbers, but it didn’t keep me from doing two 5K Mud Runs the last two years. CF stole my ability to perform in full-length shows, but it did not steal my chance to keep singing and perform in showcases and talent competitions and, of course, participate in SingSpire sessions.

So when I’m sitting in the hospital or getting up early to start my therapy or trying to catch my breath after walking across a parking lot, I stand strong and refuse to let CF steal everything.