How
CF Affects Our Lives
Greg was in Minnesota chatting with me through an IRC before we met when the news came out. Greg said that he loved me very much but that he had something bad to tell me. I was scared and as I typed back to find out what it was, my hands started to shake. He told me "I have CF and I can understand if you don't want to be with me anymore". I was shocked. CF?!?!
Then I started to think a little. "What is CF?" I had no clue of what that meant. In 1995 it was not a very often heard of disease. He explained that it was Cystic Fibrosis and told me that it was a disease that affects his lungs and digestive system. I was shocked but still didn't understand. He then told me that it was fatal. I asked when he caught this ugly disease and I think he laughed a little (because everyone asks that). I believe that at this point, his fingers were trembling also. "Cystic Fibrosis is not caught, it is something you are born with" was what I was told next. I kept thinking it was something like AIDS. He told me that he would understand if I no longer wanted to speak to him. Why would I want to deal with something so horrible. Well being the person I am, I took a deep breath and calmed my hands down a little. My reply was simply "It is too late for me to leave you, I am already in love with you and will be with you forever". Being that we were on the computers, I don't know how he reacted emotionally but the next thing I read is "Good, I love you so much and don't want to lose you".
Again,
being the person I am, when we said our goodbyes for the day, I ran over to the
campus library and took out all the books that I could about CF. I even read a
book (forgive me but I forgot the name) written by a teenager who died from CF.
It was her journal of sorts. I was touched and automatically started to fight
for CF and that is where I am at now.
My husband,
Greg, is the most wonderful man ever. I do believe that God has made us soul
mates for a reason. He has stood by me through thick and thin. How can I not
love and be with a man that is so beautiful? I know that it is not his fault
that he has CF but it seems unfair at times. How can you be so perfect and yet
have such an imperfect body? Deep down inside I know it is to challenge us to
appreciate life more often. Greg has taught me that.
Luckily
Greg has not been very sick. His disease is mostly digestive but there are
others out there that have not been so lucky. Greg lost his only sister, Diane,
back in 1988, at the tender age of 16 from CF. He is now an only child and
looks at death with new eyes since that horrible day in 1988. He sees through
these eyes when he looks in the mirror everyday or when he looks at his two
younger cousins, Mike and Joe, who also have this horrible
disease.
Now we strive to make sure that we don't lose anyone else that is dear to us. We walk the 6.2 miles in the Great Strides Walk every year. We spread Cystic Fibrosis awareness and we keep the thoughts of our already lost and loved ones in our hearts and minds every day that we are able to get out of the bed in the morning and take a deep breath...
-Shannon