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CF's lil laughs & awkward moments!

A random list of things I've heard said about me (in my life):

1. Plenty of people have thought I smoked in the past and few thought I was anorexic (because of how thin I got).

2. Been accused of having Swine flu at College

3. Been labeled as a genetic disease whenever taking a genetic/Bio class

 None, of these bother me. Everyone jumps to conclusions. They are all funny stories now! Here are the stories:

1. (At U of I) Smoking Story: A guy that I liked at U of I kept joking  around making little digs about my smoking, and I always thought he was kidding. Then a few weeks later when people started thinking we were dating, he mentioned to me how he could never date a girl that smoked. Oh he wasn't joking, he thought I smoked. And I remember thinking, "how bout a girl with a lung disease?" Needless to say, we never dated.

Anorexia Story: I'd eat dinner on fridays before I headed out the door to meet a ton of friends at an extra cirricular we did called IV (intervarsity). I didn't like eating infront of large groups of people (due to taking pills).  I didn't even know that this guy/friend was thinking that I was anorexic. We had been hanging out quite a bit, But the one night I happened to take my pills (sneakily without nobody noticing) and I did eat a piece of pizza (which I'm not a big fan of). It was .50 cent night and I was in college (its cheap food). I happened to go the restroom after I finished eating and he kinda freaked out thinking I was going to go throw up my pizza. Very awkward moment in my life.

2. Swine Flu Story: I think I mentioned this in another blog, but once I had a professor very rudely tell me in the hallway that I shouldn't be out when I was sick. She thought I had Swine Flu and when I told her I didn't, she said maybe I'd better go see someone and make sure, because I didn't sound healthy. I then said something along the lines of "I'm tired of people avoiding me like the plague, I don't have Swine Flu, I have Cystic Fibrosis." I walked off, but the professor followed me and stopped me to apologize. We then had a long and nice chat.

3.Labeled in Bio Class Story: In high School, most people knew I had CF, except a few people. This short list of people who didn't know included my Science Teacher and at least one kid in my class. They day we did our presentations on a genetic disease my partner (Sarah) and I chose Cystic Fibrosis. While discussing it affected the lungs by building up mucus, and how other organs can be affected for a CFer, this kid in the back of the room kept making comments like "ew, yuck, what a gross disease, and crap that can't be healthy, they're doomed, etc." Then I pulled out the awesome visual aids I had (actual nebulizers, etc) and my teacher asked me where I got them and i responded "at home". She asked me "you have these at your house?" and I said "yeah, I have CF."he look dumbfounded and the kid in back responded " Crap, I'm an Ass."  LOL Almost died Laughing!

Now for funny reactions: (how people react when I tell them I have CF)

10. "what's that like?"
9. "aw, I want to hug you"
8. "What that F*** is that?"
7. "how long have you had it"
6. "So you have a Cyst?"
5. "Oh, yeah I have some asthma."
4.  "Can I catch it?"
3.  "Do you hate it?"
2. "Shit" - this was a new one I heard from a castmate recently..LOL
1. and my dentist: "Oh, my wife had that once"

and yes I still go the same dentist. Regardless of his lack of knowledge about CF, his knows his teeth! :-)

Sometimes, I wish I had a hidden camera on me when I told people. some people have great reactions. They ask me what it is, what does it mean, what do I have to do to stay healthy... And some have no clue what to say. I can't blame them, its a little like dropping a bombshell on them.

Maybe I will hear more down the road that top these. We'll see.



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