At my age, most people with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) are in the hospital on the lung transplant list, and most new lungs aren't much better than the ones that are barely functional. At my age, most CFers are dead or dying, and everyday their condition worsens. Yet, I am one of the healthiest CFers in the world, and have escaped that common fate. I don't exactly know why I'm so healthy, but I think it's a mixture of things.

My parents hardly ever let me forget a pill or treatment. My parents never held me back from doing what I loved, which included going to a regular school with regular kids, exercising almost daily, and just being a kid the best way I could. Unlike a lot of parents, my parents never sheltered me from the world. They wanted me to gain an immunity and to be like any other kid. I just had some extra stuff to do at home to stay that healthy. My grandparents and mom prayed often, and later on, my mom looked into more alternative treatments and diets to keep me healthy and happy.

I don't really care that there's no one else like me in the world, and I've been lone-wolfing it for most of the time. In fact, if anything, I take pride in being like that, but I stay humble and elusive. I don't want to become well known. I don't want my name to be associated so closely with CF. If anything, I just want to be left alone to hunt, ride dirtbikes, and go on whatever adventures I want without being harassed and/or embarrassed by the public. I don't really identify myself with my disease. Yeah, it's special and interesting, but it doesn't define who I really am.

That isn't to say CF hasn't had a big part in shaping me, it has. I wouldn't be a hunter if I didn't need wild game. I wouldn't be super adventurous if I didn't have less time on earth than a lot of people. I probably wouldn't even be a Christian if CF didn't allow me to experience the inexplicable miracles I've experienced. I'm super stubborn, logical, and skeptical of everything until it's proven, or at least clearly evident. (Make some sort of statement addressing the claims here). 

It's true that CF does dictate a lot of my life. I have to wake up before noon to do my treatments, which is a half hour of shaking up my lungs and breathing in medication. I also have to eat huge meals to achieve my 7,000 daily calorie intake, and also absorb certain medications I have. Those meals can't be super rich either, since it will slow me down and make me pretty sick. I can't swim in pools or stagnant lakes unless I want to risk getting Pseudomonas. Dust is a major enemy of mine, as is anything hotter than 85 degrees or colder than 30. And even now with the wildfires, I'm having a little harder time catching my breath, and the dryness in the air is causing an annoying dry cough.

While there are clear limitations, I do a lot of things most CFers can't do. I don't let my CF control my life, and I don't regret the things CF prevents me from doing.