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...

I wasn't sure if I wanted to discuss this or should write this post. I had to make a really tough decision this week. I have been struggling with it for months. I finally decided to bite the bullet and do what I needed to... I decided to share because there are probably many others in the same or similar situation. Well, here it is: I took a giant step back in my career.<insert gasp> That's right. I, Cheriz Kunkel, houses fanatic, architecture loving, Realtor, has taken a step away from her Real Estate Career. Let that sink in. NOTE: If you are looking to buy or sell- STILL CONTACT ME. I still make commission on referrals!!!! Plus, I worked with some AMAZING realtors that are friends. So please still reach out!!! Realtor of Year: 2017 I have been a Realtor for 5 years now and I have LOVED being in this industry. Helping people buy & sell, nothing gives me a greater joy than having a 1st time home owner excited to purchase their own HOME! I had always wanted to do R...

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...

Born 12 weeks early and diagnosed with cystic fibrosis shortly People didn't think I'd live past 5 and tomorrow I turn 34 years old. BOOM BABY! I wear my age, gray hair, and wrinkles proudly (yes, even the wrinkles). Hats off to all the medication for keeping me alive. And OF COURSE... my parents, doctors, family, and friends. Research and fundraising has really helped some AMAZING, life prolonging drugs come to market. I have a large support system that helps and volunteers. I'm so thankful!! Heaven knows I needed that support system when I became a foster mom. Especially since I went from zero kids to three specialized (needs) kids. All three of whom I LOVE completely and will do anything for in the future. But, I needed help when I was sick, run down, and tired. As I said in a previous post last mont, " It's a challenge to be foster parents, it's not a challenge to love them" (Blog post: Thinking of Fostering ). I know most parents are guilty of s...

Finding ME TIME can be hard, even feel selfish. But, I have learned a lot. It's a bit of a story, let me start back at February 5th... February 5th, it was a cold, dark, stormy night. OOPS! Nevermind. This isn't a murder mystery. Feb 5th: I had Cystic Fibrosis Clinic, my first appointment of the year. Which means mental health screening. Like my usual- I score zero signs of depression and very high on anxiety. This is an accurate description, I have always been fast paced, over thinking, high level control needed, and high anxiety. My anxiety comes from feeling rushed, having too much to do and feeling I'm not accomplishing enough. This is largely thanks to time my medication and CF takes up every single day. I have trouble saying "No" and take on lots of projects at the same time. Right now, I have a career, I'm a fosterparent, have many medical treatments a day, volunteer on 6+ boards and committees for the CFF National Office, and I'm currently organi...

It's challenging to foster, it's not a challenge to love the kids Andrew and I began fostering in August of 2017. We have had two cases and 4 kiddos live with us during the last 1.5 years. Jumping into fostering 3 kids at once, was a lot. You become an instant parent. READY or NOT! First Store Trip! Prepping? It's hard to know what you will need. An expecting mother has nine months to plan. She knows the age (and sometimes gender) of her child. Now as a Foster Parent you can set limits. For example: you can state you want only 1 kid at a time, over age 10 or under age 5. It depends what works for your life. Then plan the best you can for those specifics. We decided no more than 2-3 kids, but our range of ages is 2-12 years old (for now). So we started out by setting up a crib and bunk bed (that comes apart). We painted the rooms neutral, added fun curtains. We bought duffel bags, some kid friendly games, some night lights, and tolietries. We waited until we knew who was co...

Andrew and I moved in October of 2018. We wanted slightly more space and being closer to family helps when I'm sick (I have Cystic Fibrosis). We are now super close to my sister and 30-45 minutes closer to the rest of our family. Which really helps during times (like now) when I'm on Ivs and extra meds. But, did you know I'm a Realtor (with Keller Williams) and house-enthusiast?? I LOVE homes!! I'm not just saying that. I have since I was a kid. I used to go through open houses (begging and dragging my mom with me). Since age of 8 years old I would sit and design floor plans in my free time. I have a big binder full of them. I LOVE older homes that need some love to come back to life! Our first home was a 1930s bungalow. It was beautiful! I loved that house, but we know who bought it and know they love it too :-) We needed to move to be closer to work, family, my doc, and everything. It makes life a lot simpler for us. And the area we decided to move to doesn't have...