Purpose

Sometimes people ask me why I do this blog, what is the purpose of it?

From other blogs I have established there tends to be two ends of the blog spectrum when it comes to CF. There is the attitude, CF is horrible and I'm going to use my blog as a way to release all my negative emotions and I don't care if it comes across as moaning alot of the time. The other attitude is that I am going to use my blog to show people with CF are just normal humans and we can still live full, happy lives and therefore I will be positive and omit alot of the negativity.

To be honest I don't think either is the right attitude really, both give a false perception of what it is like living with CF. Yes there are alot of negative times and emotions, however we also are normal and live lives like everyone else, its just tougher! To represent your life in any other way is a lie and whats the point in doing a blog that isn't honest? Obviously as the persons CF declines then the balance starts to become uneven and there is more and more distress and negativity, however even then they still do 'normal things', the trouble is when someone is well they don't want to spend time updating their blog, therefore the only time it gets updated is when they are stuck inside feeling down in the dumps and exhausted.

When I started this blog, it was to try and explain all the little ways CF can affect you that from the outside you wouldn't realise. I don't go around telling everyone every little discomfort I have, I don't want my CF to be the conversation topic all the time, I don't tell people that after meeting them I'm going to have to do 30 minutes of physio and a nebuliser before I go to bed or that whilst I'm talking to them I'm trying to keep down a big cough that is dying to be released. These type of things are things that are just part of me however that means people don't understand what someone with CF is having to deal with because I don't bring it up all the time. So I guess my blog was to try and explain these things, that people can read in their own time and I don't have to spend my whole day explaining to try help people understand. CF is not something you can explain in a paragraph, its something even I am still learning about, it effects everything.

I don't do this blog to be inspirational or perceived as brave. I am not a brave person, I do what I have to do to survive. I do it to try and suffer as least at possible and have a good quality of life. If I want anything from people its respect, respect that I get on with life and respect I deal with alot of medical treatments and tests on a regular basis. Respect and the understanding that even when I look well and say I am well, I'm still not as well as you and I'm still doing loads of treatments everyday to stay that well.

Over time this blog has developed however I have always tried to ensure it is balanced. It shows the CF side of things, however also the 'human' side of me. To display that you are not either sick and don't have a life or healthy and do have a life. It is possible to have both in the right circumstances and that is what people seem to find difficult to get their head around. Wow I can go out into town drinking, must mean I'm not sick, or wow I make myself look presentable everyday, can't be that sick. I hope this blog illustrates its not that simple!

I hope my blog also helps others with CF and lung conditions. I think the majority of people who read this blog actually have CF. You would think if you already have CF why on earth would you want to read about another CF life? Well having CF doesn't make you an expert in everything CF related, it only makes you an expert in CF things that you have to deal with. It's also nice to read about others experiences, meet others with CF (remember people with CF can not come into contact with each other due to cross infection) and learn you are not alone in your thoughts or little things you do. I have learnt so much since I joined the online CF community and made some great friends. Although my none-CF friends try hard to understand my life, they will never know what it is like to have CF.