I too did not think of cf as part of me. I could see how sick my sister was and I was no where near that, so of course I couldn't have cf, it just wouldn't click in my brain. Since I didn't think that much about having cf, I did not take care of me. I am now paying the price. In the last 2 years I have gone from 80% pft to an average of 35%. This seemed to be a dramatic drop and now I am feeling the toll that cf takes. I wish there was something that would make the younger age realize how important taking care of yourself is. kind of 'pre-maintainance' if you will.