Cystic Fibrosis - Stop Look Listen

Hi, my name is Kathryn, and today I want us to stop, look, and listen about cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis is a condition that’s really quite important to me. In my last pregnancy, I discovered that my husband is, well, his family is the carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene.

So, for my three children, it is something that they will need to consider in the future if they want to start families.

When you are speaking to somebody with cystic fibrosis, it’s quite important to let them lead the discussion. They may need the help of breathing equipment, and they may cough quite regularly as they speak.

And, it’s important that they don’t feel rushed or pushed to stuff like hurry up and get their message across, you know, they need to go at a speed that suits them.

They may be quite open to speak about their health. They may be quite happy to chat about their physio, the medications that they take to help with their digestion, if they’ve had lung transplants, or if they’re due to have them.

But, it’s also important as well to be very conscious if they want to be quite private about how they live with the condition.

Cystic fibrosis itself can be quite isolating in that they have to be very, very careful if they were to meet another person who has cystic fibrosis, if they were to meet face-to-face, as it can cause them both quite significant health concerns if they do. So, some people may be quite private, and it’s very important to respect that as well.

They’re living with that condition all the time, and sometimes they may just want to have an escape and a chat without having to go through everything that they’re living with.

It’s really important to bear in mind that somebody with cystic fibrosis as well, speak to them, treat them just like you would do anybody.

It doesn’t matter that they have cystic fibrosis, just treat them like you would do somebody who doesn’t have cystic fibrosis.

And, also remember that you may know a little bit about the condition, or you may know a lot, but they are living with it, and they will be an expert. They’ll probably be able to educate you quite a lot on how cystic fibrosis, how you live with it, and how you can live a full life when you have the condition.