The Nature of the Beast

There are times when I just sit and reflect about how life is going, and today is one of those days. As most of you know, I have been focusing on my health more so than ever before. I have been 100% compliant with my breathing treatments for 467 days now, and I have been working out hard 4 to 5 days a week. I am so proud of my accomplishments with both my treatments and my fitness. I have finally figured out how to balance my health, work, and personal life, and I am happier now than I have ever been. Sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, the weather has been changing, pollen has been high, and my cystic fibrosis lungs have not been happy. Last weekend, I woke up on Saturday, and it felt like my lungs were in a vice grip. By Monday, I had absolutely no voice, and I got to hear, "Mrs. English, what's wrong with your voice?" all day from my students. I've been continuing with my treatments and workouts, and I am slowly starting to feel better again. It's been a week, and I am still not back to normal yet.

That's the nature of the beast though. Cystic fibrosis is a disease that robs you of your breath no matter what you are doing to fight it. There are good days, and there are a lot of bad days. The real test comes when you are having those bad days. What will you do? Will you keep fighting? Will you push on? Will you give up?

My choice is to keep fighting. I have to believe that all of the hard work I am putting in is making a difference even if I don't feel it right now. So I will keep up with the compliance, the workouts, and the research to figure out ways to push myself even further.

Because of CF, there is only so much I can do. The rest of the fight comes from the research that provides me with new treatments and medications... and hopefully, one day, a cure. That's where you come in. You can help add tomorrows for those of us who live and breathe with cystic fibrosis everyday. It's easy to do. Just click on the link below, and then push donate. There is no such thing as a donation that is too small, because every little bit adds up to make a huge difference.

http://fightcf.cff.org/goto/kaylaskrusaders2015

I am also selling Kayla's Krusaders t-shirts for $20 each. After paying for the cost of the shirts, the rest of the money will go straight to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you are interested in ordering one, let me know.

Thank you all for you support!