hello everyone. i just found out that my boyfriend has CF. he is 23 years old. i am thinking it is a bit of a mild case, because he has not been ill at all - at least not visibly. we were recently planning a vacation, and after i suggested a certain weekend, he had to tell me about his CF status because he is getting his first surgery that weekend. of course he knew it was going to have to happen at some point - telling me and the surgery. this will be only his second hospitalization in his life. the first hospitalization was for bronchitis at 18, and this surgery is to get his sinuses cleaned out. again - it is his first surgery. in general he is extraordinarily healthy - works
out three times a week, is 6'3, gets colds less than i do, etc.
and - although i know a bit about the disease, and have done some research, his case is far from typical. i hate to admit this, but after he told me, i did consider never
talking to him again. we are newly in love, and still in the 'honeymoon phase'. as soon as he mentioned cystic fibrosis, i thought about all of the pain a future with him could be filled with because of this. but - he is perfect, and i could never, would never, do that. i suppose i came around to thinking that we are all going to die one day anyway, and who really knows when,
right? instead of leaving him in fear of pain and death, i've decided to become as educated and supportive as possible - for when CF related problems do arise. we spent a full day talking about it. i asked all of the questions i needed to ask, and within three hours, we were joking about his CF. i told him because of my frequent drinking that i probably wouldn't live past forty anyway. he told me that maybe now, if we have a child, i can finally go on extreme makeover: home edition. we also joked that we can use his CF to get out of boring parties, etc. it's what we do best. joking.
anyway...i was wondering. since he is 23 and probably healthier than me, what is the best case scenario? i quit smoking as soon as i found out (i cannot believe he let me smoke around him), but am wondering what else i can do to keep him as healthy as possible. i do not want to coddle him - just make sure i never make him sicker. because when he gets a cold, it is a much bigger deal than it would be for me. basically, i am wondering this: because he was not systematic until very recently, and because his symptoms are incredibly mild, what is our "best-case" scenario? is there any chance of him leading a relatively normal and long life? please be honest.
thank you so much.
- anonymous
out three times a week, is 6'3, gets colds less than i do, etc.
and - although i know a bit about the disease, and have done some research, his case is far from typical. i hate to admit this, but after he told me, i did consider never
talking to him again. we are newly in love, and still in the 'honeymoon phase'. as soon as he mentioned cystic fibrosis, i thought about all of the pain a future with him could be filled with because of this. but - he is perfect, and i could never, would never, do that. i suppose i came around to thinking that we are all going to die one day anyway, and who really knows when,
right? instead of leaving him in fear of pain and death, i've decided to become as educated and supportive as possible - for when CF related problems do arise. we spent a full day talking about it. i asked all of the questions i needed to ask, and within three hours, we were joking about his CF. i told him because of my frequent drinking that i probably wouldn't live past forty anyway. he told me that maybe now, if we have a child, i can finally go on extreme makeover: home edition. we also joked that we can use his CF to get out of boring parties, etc. it's what we do best. joking.
anyway...i was wondering. since he is 23 and probably healthier than me, what is the best case scenario? i quit smoking as soon as i found out (i cannot believe he let me smoke around him), but am wondering what else i can do to keep him as healthy as possible. i do not want to coddle him - just make sure i never make him sicker. because when he gets a cold, it is a much bigger deal than it would be for me. basically, i am wondering this: because he was not systematic until very recently, and because his symptoms are incredibly mild, what is our "best-case" scenario? is there any chance of him leading a relatively normal and long life? please be honest.
thank you so much.
- anonymous