I know a lot of people are familiar with nebulizers. They're the things people with asthma and allergies will use to breathe in medications, or even just deliver moisture to their airways. I use a little blue air compressor that connects to a nebulizer cup. Inside that cup is medication. I use a variety of different medications. Sometimes they're harsh, sticky, and bitter tasting antibiotics. Sometimes it's Pulmozyme, which is a CF-specific medication that breaks down some of the extra mucus and delivers moisture to my airways. Sometimes I just breathe in saline, which makes some people with CF cough a lot, but for healthier CFers like me, it just moisturizes everything and tastes nice.

Nebulizers vaporize the medication, which is what led my brother Ryder's friend to ask, "If she can do that, why can't I vape around her?"

Ryder spent 10 minutes explaining to his friend that nebulized medication is not like vape smoke at all. While vape smoke can be very harmful to me, nebulized medication saves my life. It eventually clicked, and Ryder's friend was very red in the face. I assured him that while his question was stupid, it wasn't the dumbest thing I've ever been asked. It's natural for clueless and confused people to ask really stupid questions. It's ok to ask such questions, and it always ends up as good joke material for me.