Cheriz: My life with Cystic Fibrosis

I turned 34 in April this year! I love celebrating my birthday each year and seeing more wrinkles and gray hair appear. I LOVE that I am building this beautiful life with my family. I just wish my body could keep up... Being born with cystic fibrosis meant some challenges throughout my life. I never knew when CF would throw me a curve ball. I missed a lot of holidays in the hospital growing up and sometimes my body tells me to stop. The last few months have been more rough for my CF-related Arthritis. And today isn't any different, despite it being Father's Day! Dad & Andrew I had wonderful plans to go home to see my Dad today, then come back home in time to make some dinner for my family when Andrew gets off work around 5 or 6pm tonight. I had a lot of great plans to celebrate my husband and Dad for Father's Day- They deserve it. But, I woke up with frozen/stiff joints and spots all over. I can barely move, let alone walk or drive today. So all those plans went out the...

Yes, I have Cystic Fibrosis. Yes, It's mostly known for the damage done to our lungs. But, it's not JUST a LUNG DISEASE. To be honest, when I was younger I had more serious GI (stomach) issues than serious lung issues. I've had many, many surgeries where part of my intestines were removed (I only have 60-70% of my intestines left). I have/had liver struggles, bone/joint issues, reproductive issues, and more. Also, I have mild cerebral palsy ( diagnosed at age 3). For my CP, I did lots of physical therapy, wore a leg brace for 10+ years, and see an eye specialist. I had surgery on both my eyes to cut and tightened my eye muscles a couple years ago. So, yes... while overall I struggle the most with my lungs, it changes day- to-day. Some days I do my meds and have no issues. Some days I have stomach issues, some days my joints hurt, sometimes my allergies are causing me to cough a lot. It just depends. One issue I have never "officially" had diagnosed is my Arthri...