Beating the Odds Against Cystic Fibrosis

As you sit here reading this, I want you to imagine a straw. Now put that straw into your mouth and start breathing in and out of it. It may remind you of your childhood days of shooting spitballs at your friends. It’s kinda fun isn’t it? Although, as you continue to breathe in and out you will start to realize it’s a little more difficult than you originally thought. You are a couple minutes in and you begin to become a little light-headed. If you continue there is a chance you are going to start really not feeling well so I suggest you stop. Thank god that was only a fun exercise because could you imagine breathing like that everyday? 

Unfortunately, some of us can imagine what it would be like because it is all we have ever known. Welcome to the life of someone with Cystic Fibrosis. CF is a genetic mutation that causes thick mucus to build up in the lungs, inducing a chronic cough. It also affects various other organs like the liver and pancreas. Some CF patients have to take pancreatic enzymes before they eat because they are unable to break down food. If enzymes are not taken then the food will not be absorbed and then discarded from the body. There is no cure to CF and the only way to survive with end stage Cystic Fibrosis is to receive a lung transplant, yet that comes with its own struggles and uncertainties. Therefore, the life expectancy of someone with CF is around 40 years old. 

I was born first in my family, blue eyed and healthy, or so my parents thought. As the years went on I began to have a lot of stomach problems that caused me to spend hours in the bathroom. While others were out playing, I was enjoying quality time on the toilet talking to my imaginary friends. I was brought to multiple doctors who could not find the cause to my problem. Crohn's disease? Nope. Lactose intolerant? Nope. Finally, at the age of 6 I took what is a called a sweat test, which finally determined that I had Cystic Fibrosis. 

After my diagnosis, I did not understand the severity of my illness, so in my eyes I thought I could still do anything. Therefore, if i wanted to accomplish something, you bet I would do it and with that my love for running blossomed. I used to run here and there with my dad around the block or down some local hiking trails. Never too far, but just enough to get my heart racing. I was put into soccer from a young age, but during my 5 years of playing I never made a goal. The only thing I loved doing was running up and down the field. I never cared that the whole premise of the game was to kick the ball into the net. 

Then, during my 8th grade year I decided to join the modified cross country team. I became the stand-out runner of the team and my county in general. I would win races by 200 meters, 400 meters and so on. Never would you think I had a demon living inside my lungs. I was then pulled up to the varsity track team to run with the high schoolers. Even then I excelled because all I wanted to do was run and run fast. That year, I became All-American with my 4xmile relay team. From there, I would get many more titles from All-County to All-American and I would also break numerous records until my sophomore year. 

It was a great few years of accomplishments. Running became my everything. It was all I talked about and dreamt about; however, like all loves, there is always some type of heartbreak that makes you realize how much something means to you. Every spring season was usually a wash because my asthma would flare up due to the pollen. I could barely hit times that I had so easily before. I would just look forward to cross country because I knew I would feel better. As I got older, running became harder and my CF became more vengeful. When I use to get sick I would immediately be put on medication, which would take about a week to kick in. Unfortunately, I was finding myself feeling somewhat better after a month to only be struck back down with another CF infection.

My running was declining and where I had once found joy, I was now finding absolute heartbreak. Near the end of my senior year I found myself struggling to finish workouts and long runs. It became so bad that I began to get dizzy and out of breath after less than 50 meters. Walking soon became a task in itself. I later discovered I had pneumonia and was immediately put on IV antibiotics. This is something that CF patients have to deal with on a normal basis, but due to the running I was healthy enough to avoid IV antibiotics for a few years. To make the situation worse, my mother was starting to loose her battle with colon cancer. 

In a matter of months, I lost running, the only thing that had once kept me sane, and I had also lost my mom. This was the worst time in my life, and I didn’t know how I would survive. A few months earlier I had received a scholarship to run track and cross-country at Saint Thomas Aquinas College. Knowing this, I began to push myself to run again. Some days were difficult, and I thank my dad for pushing me to keep running. It was such a struggle and most days I found myself crying, hoping for a sign to give me a little inspiration that things would get better. 

After a long, strenuous summer, I was finally welcomed into my freshman year of college. Things were so different and the training was on a whole other level then I was use to. I wish I could say my freshman year was where I made my come back, but it was one of the hardest transitions I experienced, and my unstable health didn’t help. To get through it, I would imagine running on the trails from my high school days, feeling the wind blow through my hair and taking in deep, beautiful breaths. I missed that feeling so much. 

My wish finally came true during my sophomore year of college. I had trained so hard over the summer and I never missed a CF treatment. I burned with the desire to beat my CF even if it was just once; I was not going to stand being sick any longer. That year I came in feeling fitter than ever and I found myself first on the team. The year before I wasn’t even top 7 and now I was number one. I was back! I broke a few records, was first team all conference and was awarded the Smile award for excelling despite my debilitating disease. However, my biggest accomplishment would occur the following year when my team and I made it to the D2 NCAA Cross country Nationals in Joplin, Missouri for the first time in our school’s history. It was absolutely amazing to make it there with my closest friends. 

I never would have imagined that running would have taught me so many life lessons. In the end it’s not about the records you have because they will be broken. Mine have all been broken by the number one girls high school runner in the country. Most know who she is, but many will never remember me, the girl who desperately fought to set those records. So don’t worry about the records and titles or your biggest competition, race for you. Remember why you started running and your love for it. It’s all about the journey that got you there and that is what will stay with you for a lifetime. If you are struggling with an injury or even an illness like me, just keep pushing. Don’t give up and trust me when I say, once you get over the hill, you will be so proud of yourself. The story you will be able to tell will triumph the pain you had to overcome. 

My journey doesn’t end here as I look forward to my first marathon. It won't be easy, but I love the thought of the continuation of my story and how I will feel when I cross that finish line. All the struggles I have fought before will help me through those grueling 26.2 miles and once again I will stare CF in the eye because I have won a battle against something that has brought me so much pain.

- Katie O'Grady ( IG: @kates_race_to_breathe )