C
CFBROTHER
Guest
I do not wish to bring any rain to an already cloudy situation, I simply wanted to hear some responses from other CF patients and/or family members of a CF patient who would know how I have felt for years. I guess I will start from the beginning of my story and then ask my questions. I lost my baby sister in 1990. After a 3 year battle with complications from a combination of CF, a liver transplant, and ultimately diabetes, she passed away at home - 5 days after her 12th birthday-3months after my 13th birthday. I cannot begin to describe the incredible determination and willingness to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles that Leisha possessed, and over time(when she was alive and in recent years) I came to realize that most patients diagnosed with Cf, young and old, possess those same super-human like qualities. The unsurpassed ability to spread smiles in a world full of pain and suffering has never ceased to amaze me. For years, I questioned my Mom, doctors, and God himself in my prayers why I hadn't been the one who was born with CF. My sister was the second child from 2 parents who carried the gene - I was the first! There were many times that I wish I could have switched shoes with her even as a young child. Leisha and I used to climb the steps of Reunion tower in downtown Dallas when we were kids to benefit CF and every year I would cry on the way up. Not because I had to wait on Leisha but becasue I couldn't understand why someone so full of life couldn't keep up with her healthy brother. Of course as years passed I understood why she couldn't keep up physically, but I also realized over time that she was years ahead of me in determination and inner strength. The one thing in life that got my sister down on others is to see or hear their pity for her. She wouldn't have it. She would never show defeat no matter how bad the pain and no matter how difficult the struggle. I saw that little girl take Pancrease everyday of her life among many other meds CF patients are accustomed to taking. After her transplant, I then saw her take thousands of dollars worth of Cyclosporine everyday on top of other anti-rejection drugs until her death. I am now 27 years old and think about her all the time. I wish we were still 8 years old and going to CF camp at Camp Sweeney in Gainsville, TX, but the camp was even difficult for me to attend after a few years because of the loss of life every year. Every fall I would go and meet up with all my old cabin mates from the previous year and every year there would be one or two missing from the group. I still have a picture in a safe that was from 1984 at camp. That was one of the greatest weekends of my life that I will never forget. I met so many incredible people that year who have influenced the person I have become today simply becasue they were who they were. I remember very few names but I remember ALL of their faces and about once a year, I dig out that picture and it rushes back to me like it was yesterday. One of my sisters very close friends was Stormy Jones. Do ya'll remember Stormy? To my knowledge, my sister was the very first FEMALE CF patient to ever receive a liver transplant and that is when she met Stormy. They were friends until her death. If anything I have mentioned in this letter strikes your memory, please email me and share your memories. These are the times with my baby sister that I will treasure forever and to hear stories from someone else makes them even more special. Has science progressed? Is the life expectancy greater now? Do patients still have to take breathing treatments daily? What has changed? Please let me know if this article means anything to you. My baby sister has been gone for 14 years this April and I no longer live around CF patients, but her memory and my love for people like her and you will never leave my heart. I thank all of you for your time who took the time to read this and look forward to hearing from you all! Take care. With love from TX - Larry McCarthy, Brother of Leisha McCarthy (4/4/1978-4/9/1990)