Meet the 2024 Scholars

"Describe a defining moment in your journey with CF that sparked personal growth or resilience. How did this experience affect you and what did you learn from this moment?"

I was able to go eleven years before requiring a hospital visit due to Cystic Fibrosis-related complications. While my hospital stay was a defining moment in my CF journey, I don't think I tend to give credit to the years of hard work my care team, my parents, and I put in to make it so long before needing to seek a higher level of treatment. I learned the importance of responsibility through maintaining treatments, and that responsibility is something I carry with me in all aspects of life. My hospital stay was brought about by decreasing health; I was getting sick more frequently and illnesses were impacting me more. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance due to a dangerously high fever. During my stay, there were many things that made me come to the realization of how sick I actually was. I had to receive a PICC line, a ten day course of antibiotics, and have my health carefully monitored. I wasn't able to get up to walk to the outdoor patio until day five. During that time I learned a few important things. First, my community will support me through the good and the bad. I had to leave during a week-long fundraising event "Charge up to fight CF" that my school was holding in my honor. Upon my hospitalization, in addition to continuing the fundraiser, they found all different ways to support me, including sending dozens of cards and letting me attend class through Skype calls when I was able. I had an amazing care team and many friends and family visited during my ten days, making sure I never felt alone. The second lesson I learned was that my circumstances don't define me, but how I react to them does. I don't let my Cystic Fibrosis tell me that I'm weak, pitiful, unable to make a difference or that I'm unable to choose my path in life. Rather, it fuels me to make the most of my one chance. I learned that during adversity, I can still give and receive, form connections with those around me, and achieve goals. My story has power and I can wield it like a weapon, use it as a sail to push me onwards, and draw upon it in order to give me the hope and determination that I can turn misfortune into a life well lived.