As I woke up this morning, it felt like a normal morning. I rolled out of bed, exhausted from coughing and not sleeping well, then grabbed my morning coffee to plop on the couch and begin the routine of waking up my lungs. This routine literally consists of me sitting on the couch under a comfy blanket, drinking coffee, and catching up on social media or reading.
As I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, I saw five pictures of cats. I remember giggling to myself about that. Then the next picture was an update from a friend who had gotten her call for her new lungs the day before. I had been thinking of her all night. So when I saw her update that everything went well and that her new lungs fit her perfectly, my heart jumped for joy for her. She is like me and loves to live her life. While I know she didn’t allow herself to be trapped by the disease, I am so excited for her that she can live breathing freely now.
The very next picture on my feed was about another Cyster, except that this one had lost her battle with Cystic Fibrosis. I didn’t know this woman as well, but I have followed her for a while and had a couple short conversations with her through social media. I knew she hadn’t been doing well. She was on her second lung transplant and dealing with chronic rejection. She caught my attention initially because she was a pole dancer. I have a friend who is a pole dancer and it is just something that amazed me. I shared her story with this friend and began following her myself. The amount of strength and dedication that sport takes is just incredible. The inner strength to battle such a nasty chronic illness is incredible, but then the physical strength to pursue pole dancing was just mind-blowing to me.
While I know that celebration and sorrow comes with being a part of the CF community, it was just crazy that it all came as a whirlwind. I was supposed to be writing my health update for November today, but instead I am here writing about the roller coaster that is the world. You never know what your day is going to look like. That is truly something I enjoy about the world. It may cause pain, but it is also what causes joy.
As I end this short and reflective post, I want to tell you what I got out of this experience and why I am sharing this anecdote with you. The world may seem cruel and indecisive, but it’s really what you make of it. It’s what you choose to take from each and every day that you live. I choose to live my life. I choose to see the beauty and laugh each and every day. I choose to breathe easy and not fret over what might go wrong. As I pondered over this crazy random happenstance, I realized that it was just another lesson that I could teach myself. Today I am celebrating a friend’s new chance at life, and celebrating a life that showed me strength. That is what I got from this experience: Celebrate the good, and don’t dwell on the “what ifs”.
You are such a special person. I admire you Wendy.
Thank you! That is very sweet of you!