She's Not Heavy, She's My Cyster

One of my favorite things about this blog is getting lots of emails from readers from all walks of life: from fellow CFers to parents to siblings to medical professionals to people with other lung diseases to just really supportive strangers. The people are all different, but one thing many of them have in common is the question: "why are you so open about your disease and does it ever scare you to put yourself out there like that?"

There are about a million different answers as to why I choose to share my life with CF and transplant publicly. I could credit my parents, who taught me to be open about CF at a young age and who got me involved with the CFF basically from the word go after my diagnosis at 6 weeks old. I could credit the world for blessing me with amazing people who are all so understanding about CF and my health and who have never made me feel bad about myself just because I'm a little bit different. I could credit all of these people and more and I definitely wouldn't be lying -- it's amazing what a few good people can do for the soul in terms of keeping me honest.

But most of all, I credit you guys.

The CF community is, in a word, exceptional. My friends and "CF family" have truly stood by me "in sickness and in health", never afraid to laugh, cry, commiserate, or celebrate right along with me throughout the journey. In my most arrogant moments I sometimes fancy myself a "writer", but when it comes to expressing how grateful I am for everything you all have given me through the years, well -- words fail me. Honest. You guys are everything.

And this article, from today's NY Daily News, just proves it.

Not only am I lucky enough to call these lovely ladies my friends, I am also blown away by their courageous strength in sharing their stories. From Lyndsey's recent stint on NY Med, Katy's appearance on Say Yes to the Dress, Kristy's dedication to speaking to nursing students about CF and organ donation, Allison's appearance on cooking shows to promote healthy eating for CFers and diabetics, and Kelley's recent work signing up organ donors at NY's Fashion Night Out, these women are great representatives of the spirit and energy found throughout the CF community.

So how do I do it? Easy. I just remember that 30,000 heads are always better than one.

And then I follow your lead.