Hi this is my first time posting. Im a 23 yr old male and have had CF since birth. I play hockey and tennis and Im currently student teaching to become an elementary teacher and im in good health. Just curious how the CF community felt about the MTV Real World cast member with CF. If this is news to you I found out yesterday as i wacthed the first episode. SHe smokes and seems a little uneasy with it. I myslef am worried about how MTV will potray CF while using information that is unresearched and wrong, because the real world tends to do this to create drama. Hopefully this will be a step in the right direction for CF awareness , as long as it is correct information and not just MTV drama. hope you comment.
Comments on Real World cast memeber.
- Thread starter beaudry93
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I don't know alot of Cf- i have a friend who lost a cousin to it and has one fighting it now- but from what i gather people who have Cf can not even be around second hand smoke let alone smoke themselves, and she portrayed having the illness as nothing as if it was a cold of some sort. I'm curious to see some truth behind this.<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif" border="0">
I took one look at her fingers and knew. i have a few thoughts, first I'm so glad that there is finally someone in the public eye w/ CF. Although it's so common, so few people actually know about it. Second, I'm upset that this person in the public eye smokes. It is her choice and I don't think she has any responsability to be a "poster child", but I think the producers at MTV should have used more discression and thought about how this was CF's first impression for most people. Debbie22 yr old w/ CF
Hi, I've not had a chance to look at the boards until today since my kids have been on break. I didn't realize that a new Real World had started and missed the episode you all are mentioning. Can anyone tell me when it will be on again? I don't really watch it, my kids do. Two teenage girls w/CF. I might watch it for a bit when scanning through channels but have not really sat down and watched it since way back. I'd like to catch this one though. I am really interested now, after reading the posts. Thanks to anyone that can give me a heads up to when it's usually on. Guess I could ask my kids but they don't tune in all the time. Liza
Her name is Frankie, she is 21 and from Kansas City (I think). MTV is playing her up as the wild and rebellious one of the seven cast members: she's abundantly pierced, worked in a porn shop, and had some alcohol-related adventures on her first night that could rival the infamous Ruthie. Her smoking has quickly become a hotly contested topic on realworld message board (at televisionwithoutpity.com), where everyone posting has basically said "I don't have CF but I knew someone who did / know someone who does / saw it on TV once and smoking is baaaaad; I can't believe she's doing that, how stupid" etc. Personally, I'm just happy it's finally getting spotlighted. In the first episode, SHE totally downplayed the seriousness of cf; it wasn't MTV doing that. Now her housemates have caught on, however.
I know I'm supposed to be pissed that Frankie smokes and is therefore a bad role model or whatever, but personally, I think she's the greatest member of the cast. What pisses me off more is that out of her 6 roomates, only 1 of them knew what cf was, and all that girl knew was that her mom's brother had died of it in his childhood; that is to say, she didn't really know anything. When she got smashed 
beer<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> and passed out, all of her housemates were like, "We don't know if she's drunk or it's her ailment." Yes, ailment was the word they used, which made me want to smack them. If Frankie's showing anything to the public, it's that it's a tough disease to live with and can emotionally mess with you: she said she started smoking to be like "the popular girls" but I'm guessing it's also out of spite and loneliness. And I think she's showing that not all "sick girls" are perfect flawless angels but can be rebellious and do their fair share of embarrassing things. scarlett19 with cf
beer<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> and passed out, all of her housemates were like, "We don't know if she's drunk or it's her ailment." Yes, ailment was the word they used, which made me want to smack them. If Frankie's showing anything to the public, it's that it's a tough disease to live with and can emotionally mess with you: she said she started smoking to be like "the popular girls" but I'm guessing it's also out of spite and loneliness. And I think she's showing that not all "sick girls" are perfect flawless angels but can be rebellious and do their fair share of embarrassing things. scarlett19 with cfI'd agree Scarlett. We all make choices and it is OUR lives. We live it for ourselves NOT for our CF. I was upset that the other cast members didn't know squat, too. When that one girl said that her mom's brother died of it I was like "Hello! You could be a carrier, dumbass!" But that's kind of the point, Frankie is most likley a neat person, but she's on there because she has CF. It's funny when people make the argument, "you've got a disease, you shouldn't smoke, drink, ect. it's bad for you" and I always tell them to look at my point of view, they've got healthy bodies, it doesn't make much sense to smoke, drink, ect. and ruin them. I think that when you have to work at keeping yourself alive you've got a right to experiment, and that people who don't take it for granted.Debbie22 yr old w/ CF
Scarlett, Great comments! I am a 33yr old male with cf and live in Durham, NC. I did alot of rebellious things growing up as many of my other cf friends have, and it is all part of life. No one is perfect and this girl on the Real World should not have to be scrutinized because she has this F****** also. I give her 2 thumbs up! Rave ON! p.s. my name is brent, and my email address is brentinob@hotmail.com if you want to correspond. (sorry if i misspelled anything)
to the person two posts down: what do you mean?It's fascinating to see the *normal* people on real world message boards argue about this. Actually, it's pretty sad and ridiculous. Most of them see Frankie as selfish and manipulative, and they are all over her for telling her housemates about her cf because it "places an unfair burden on them." Can you believe that? Someone posted that Frankie didn't have to tell her roomates that she was "dying" on the first night, so I responded that all she said was she had cf, right? So then a different person wrote, <hr>"Well, she didn't outright say she was dying, but everyone knows CF is horribly fast-acting disease that usually claims its victims in their childhood or adolescence. So in my mind, when she said she had CF, she said she was dying."<hr>PEOPLE ARE SO F*&^%$e IGNORANT! She only has a few people defending her actions who say that she has a right to rebel. And some decent soul posted a link to cff.org so every one could at least get some information. Everyone else just faults her for not being the perfect patient. Now that I think about it, it's simply awful how stupid people are. Grrrrrrr.scarlettwho plans to rave on about Frankie for a long time and is 19 w/ cf
Debbie i agree that it is shocking how CF is the number one disease effecting caucasians and people can know so damn little about it. I visited that site that scarlett had noted and was shocked to see what people were saying about the disease. Pretty much everyone was under the impression that people with CF didnt make it past childhood, or that if they did, it was just a matter of time before they were dead. I was talking to my mother about all of this and of course she said "oh honey dont read those stupid posts, the world is full of ignorant people and reading them will just make you upset." This is true, but i couldnt stop reading them partly just because of the shock value really, it was like i wanted to call up all of those people on the phone and personally set them straight. It is also a shame, i have always thought, that CF has to have such a horrible name- cystic fibrosis. It was misnamed anyway back in the day, and the disturbing sounding title has nothing to do with what it even is. Anyway, i am not a big fan of this frankie character with cf or without, i also did not like that she said "Most people my age have already had lung transplants, if they aren't dead." HELLO, talk about bad publicity for the disease, what a moron, and how insensitive. She obviously has no clue that she is in theory representing CF for the first time on national television (that people will actually watch), and that it might be better if she were accurate in her information. Who cares if she throws up from drinking, we all do, but at least try to educate people if you have the opportunity. AHHHHH
Hi all, I finally was able to watch that first episode of RW. I have to say, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'd gone to the MTV website to get a recap and thought, OMG this is not going to be good. But then later was able to catch the show. Yea, smoking is bad, for everyone. She seemed to know that but like many of you are saying, most CF'ers will have a rebellous period. Maybe now, she can't quit. Yea, she didn't say she's tried or even wants to. I am curious to see if they are going to show here doing her treatments or taking her meds. Maybe later as the show progresses.I had to think though, this is the first show, people get nervous around new people, she's said she wants to kinda start over in a new place, this is her chance. Maybe not a great first impression, especially the whole hot tub thing, but she surely seems to be regretting her behavior. I was surprised at her comment on lung transplant and death. Like someone else mentioned, we all deal with CF differently. Maybe for her, that's all she's seen from the people around her. I have to say, my girls don't really know anyone with CF. At our last CF clinic, CF'ers weren't allowed to mingle. They did manage to meet two younger girls but then we moved. They know the statistics, but we are sure to tell them about the adults with CF, the ones that aren't diagnosed until their 40's & 50's, those that I see here on this board with families, that are going to college. Like, I've mentioned before, I'm a mom with two teen girls (16 & 13). I've told them both about the new show and my younger daughter caught part of it today. I plan on asking them what their take is on it. As for those boards someone mentioned, I plan to look for those. I say we should all take a look and give them some accurate information. I am anxious to see how it all plays out, I'll be tuning in.Liza
Hello. My first time, too. I'm a 28/m without CF, but with spina bifida, a disability from birth, so I'm inclined to be curious about anything medical. I watched the episode tonight, from my native city of San Diego, and was fascinated by Frankie. She sure does have an edge about her. I'm not sure if that would be offputting for me if I were on the cast. I will say that while there is definitely a time for the masks, gloves, and other precautions and procedures done by CF folks, I respect that Frankie is a little on the rebellious side as well. I am, however, rather shocked that she'd smoke and drink so heavily. I've smoked once in my life. I was sick for five days after that with a sore throat. I can't imagine a CFer being more tolerant of smoke. Combine that with her drinking, and there is some serious trouble abrew. I have had a fair amount of experience with alcohol, and know that it supresses the breathing a bit (that is to say, it relaxes the whole body, including the lungs, which is no good for a CF patient). I think she knows all the dangers and is maybe kind of giving up. That's rather depressing to me, but hey, it's her body, and I know that post-transplant days have their rough spots as well. I just hope she lives long enough to have the tx if she wants it. But at the same time, I also get the sense that the rest of the gang is ignorant about CF, and I'd hate for them to pressure her into anything. I haven't been a big fan of the show for a few years; I suppose I just outgrew it, but I'll be very intereted to see the CF issue unfold. I hope they can show some stuff like masks, vests, etc, to give the viewer some sense what CF entails.
When watching the Real World the other night, I couldn't help but to completely break down. I had two sisters die from CF. Stephanie was 15 and Christy was 21. They would have done anything to have lived longer and to see Frankie's disregard for the disease broke my heart. I really do hope MTV's portrayal of her and CF are done in a positive light so that it may open's people's eye's up to the severity of the disease rather than what I saw the other night. To me, it just seemed that it came across to people as maybe not that big of a deal, even Frankie made it seem like she didn't care too much that she had it. She slid it into conversation and then continued to say that she is still going to smoke. It literally broke my heart, not only for my sisters whom I miss more than anything even years after their passing, but for those millions of children suffering through it on a daily basis that would do anything to be able to breath without coughing and hurting. Thanks for reading this. I just had to say SOMETHING on behalf of Christy and Stephanie. Much love and prayers to those children/adults and family members that suffer through CF. I really hope this Real World opens people's heart and minds to just how very serious this disease is. Sincerely, Jenna Hoffman. jenna12475@hotmail.com <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">