theonlypirate
New member
I am in a tough situation and (fortunately, I suppose) I haven't found anyone else who is in it. My sister has CF and has had cepacia for several years now. Since I also have CF, I have put forth great efforts to avoid getting it. I've moved out of my home, I wear a mask when I'm around them, I wash my hands a lot and I use bleach wipes on home surfaces when I visit.
Some background information about me is that I work in a CF research lab so I have the opportunity to go to CF conferences. I do Great Strides and I'm at one of the only hospitals that segregates CF patients in their own unit. As a result, I have made a lot of close friends with CF-ers and I also started a relationship with someone else who has it. Cepacia patients are isolated in other parts of the hospital so I have learned that their bacteria is a greater risk than some of the others (which I already have anyway).
My sister gets personally offended every time I take precautions to avoid cross-contamination. She hates that I want her to sit in the seat furthest from me at restaurants and she refuses to help me in any of my efforts to avoid cepacia. It has completely destroyed our relationship, which wasn't extremely good to start with.
My nurse, who doesn't think that I am overreacting, suggested that I go on forums and ask if anyone else with CF has had a sibling with cepacia. If so, could you tell me about your experience? What do you do to avoid cross-contamination? <b>Do</b> you take any precautions to avoid getting it? Has it hurt or helped your relationship?
I really need advice on this or at least some thoughts on what you would do if you were me. At this point, I feel so discouraged that my entire family doesn't help me in simple avoidance tactics, that I feel like I need to stop visiting home. I hate that I would essentially be punishing all of them, but it's not an emotional issue to me. I have myself, my boyfriend and my CF friends to think about. Thoughts? Comments?
Some background information about me is that I work in a CF research lab so I have the opportunity to go to CF conferences. I do Great Strides and I'm at one of the only hospitals that segregates CF patients in their own unit. As a result, I have made a lot of close friends with CF-ers and I also started a relationship with someone else who has it. Cepacia patients are isolated in other parts of the hospital so I have learned that their bacteria is a greater risk than some of the others (which I already have anyway).
My sister gets personally offended every time I take precautions to avoid cross-contamination. She hates that I want her to sit in the seat furthest from me at restaurants and she refuses to help me in any of my efforts to avoid cepacia. It has completely destroyed our relationship, which wasn't extremely good to start with.
My nurse, who doesn't think that I am overreacting, suggested that I go on forums and ask if anyone else with CF has had a sibling with cepacia. If so, could you tell me about your experience? What do you do to avoid cross-contamination? <b>Do</b> you take any precautions to avoid getting it? Has it hurt or helped your relationship?
I really need advice on this or at least some thoughts on what you would do if you were me. At this point, I feel so discouraged that my entire family doesn't help me in simple avoidance tactics, that I feel like I need to stop visiting home. I hate that I would essentially be punishing all of them, but it's not an emotional issue to me. I have myself, my boyfriend and my CF friends to think about. Thoughts? Comments?