Breathe In: A Cystic Fibrosis Podcast

This week on Breathe In, Tiffany is on her own again while Gunnar battles his way through final exams. Tiffany is joined by a new voice on the podcast, Holly Seay, 24, from Georgia, a newlywed with CF. Holly takes us through her life with CF and how she met her now husband. Prior to their wedding, Holly and her now husband never lived together. Holly talks about the adjustment period and how her husband has acclimated to the CF life. She gives advice to those that are wanting to get married. The podcast ends with Holly and Tiffany's recommendations for the week.

On this episode of Breathe In, Gunnar takes the day off and Tiffany takes over with a returning guest, Audrey Kostelec, 23 from Washington State. You may remember Audrey from the emergency podcast we had on FaceBook Live in March. This time we talk about Audrey and her CF journey. Audrey explains how she was misdiagnosed and has recently been placed on disability. The two chat about how being on disability has helped Audrey's health in a positive way. They end the podcast with the usual fun recommendations segment (Girly ones, sorry guys!). You won't want to miss this episode!

A mere few days following the FDA's approval of Trikafta, cystic fibrosis patients across the United States began dosing. This week's podcast looks back at Gunnar's time in the triple combo study. Think of this podcast as a follow to Gunnar's blog over on GunnarEsiason.com. Gunnar talks about both the immediate and long term affects of having been on the medication and what his hopes are for the CF community. Gunnar and Tiffany reaffirm the scientific community's commitment to a treatment for the final 10% of CF patients and a cure for all CF patients.

Gunnar and Tiffany welcome back the podcast after a brief (unplanned!) hiatus. Tiffany announces that she started working a new job and has begun living out her goal of working full time. Gunnar talks about fighting through a round a midterms in the first quarter MBA term. The duo chat about getting their flu shots, why CF community members must adhere to flu shot recommendations from the CDC and how patients and families can be proactive during peak cold and flu season.

After a few weeks off, Gunnar and Tiffany return to the podcast with Gunnar's girlfriend, Darcy. This time, though, Darcy puts on her social worker hat and takes the podcast through a clinical lens into the world of self care. It's established early on in the podcast that self care is a bit of a misnomer these days because of Instagram, while Darcy actually defines it as doing things that are often uncomfortable or that we avoid, and ultimately contribute to bettering our minds, bodies and spirits. The podcast is then broken down into seven buckets: 1) Saying No 2) Accepting Help 3) Practicing Self Compassion 4) Letting go of what you can't control 5) Making time for things or people that are important 6) Setting boundaries with people that bring you into their drama or dysfunction 7)Making a long list of short term and long term goals

Tiffany is joined by Ashlee Terwilliger, 35, with cystic fibrosis and a double lung transplant survivor. The two talk about Ashlee's life growing up and how becoming a teacher affected her health and how she handled all the germs. As her health declined, she became pregnant and Ashlee takes us through being pregnant and labor with a low lung function and then ultimately needing to have a lifesaving double lung transplant. They end the podcast with awesome recommendations and advice for those wanting to have a child. You won't want to miss this!

Olivia Duesterberg, 26 with cystic fibrosis, joins the podcast from Denver, Colorado. Olivia, like Gunnar, is fresh off a move to a new place, so this week on Breathe In, the team tackles what it takes to transition care, a routine, and everything in between when someone with CF needs to move to a brand new place. Olivia mentions that she had been consulting with the CF team in the Denver area due to a specific bacterial infection, but when she was finally ready to move to Denver's care system full time, she did so through the inpatient ward following a medical emergency. Gunnar's transition, while certainly still on going, has been less rocky, but he talks about moving over a clinical trial, meeting a new CF team and starting grad school.

With Tiffany off for the week, Gunnar is joined by his girlfriend, Darcy, and Jack Goodwin, who dated the late Mallory Smith. Jack talks about his relationship with Mallory and her posthumously published memoir, "Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life". Gunnar, Darcy and Jack talk about the dynamics of what goes into a relationship with someone who might have cystic fibrosis, the risks, realities and what good often comes from them. Jack talks about his favorite part of the book and shares some memories that didn't make the final publication. Finally, Darcy and Jack offer some advice for people who might be dating someone with CF. "Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life" by Mallory Smith can be purchased wherever you get your books!

Amanda Varnes, 24 with cystic fibrosis, joins Gunnar and Tiffany on the podcast for a second time. Amanda last appeared on Breathe In Podcast in November of 2018. Since then, she has been re-transplanted again, making Amanda one of the very few people in the entire world who has received three double lung transplants. Amanda talks about falling into organ rejection following and the lead up to her May transplant at Duke. Since being transplanted, Amanda has suffered from two very serious complications related to the surgery and subsequent recovery, including a brief bought of paralysis. While Amanda does stress that her complications were considered quite rare, she talks about persevering through them and her overall will to live. Amanda has since recovered and is working hard in a physical rehab program!

Fresh off Gunnar's colonoscopy last week, the Breathe In duo talks about their experiences going through various medical procedures, and how they are able to cope with the physical and emotional hurdles that come with them. Gunnar details a brief panic attack he had on the table in the endoscopy suite, which leads Tiffany to share a story about her recent gall bladder surgery. The duo recount times when the procedures were either easier or more difficult than they had anticipated. Tiffany talks about a sinus surgery and Gunnar recalls the time an oral surgery unrelated to CF went bad!

Carly Klassen, 22 with cystic fibrosis from Boise, Idaho, joins the podcast to talk about her digital art platform More Than Sick. Carly's Insagram account @MoreThanSick has been charging through the cystic fibrosis virtual community and features digital sketches of different women fight back against CF! Carly talks about her motivation to start More Than Sick, and her ongoing project, #thestrengthofcysterhood. Carly mentions that she has used More Than Sick as her way of opening up about her CF, and sharing artwork featuring the people who have inspired her! Carly's journey throughout the entire creative process is an amazing story, one you certainly will not want to miss!

Cat Kurban, 22, joins Tiff on this episode of Breathe In. Cat was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of 18 years old. Cat explains to Tiff how she was diagnosed after a shoulder surgery that had been an issue for quite some time. The two talk about Cat's life changing and how her routine changed tremendously. Cat shares about making her way into the CF community and coming to terms with having cystic fibrosis so late in the game. She definitely shows how positivity and a great mindset will guide you through life changing news.

Breathe In takes a different angle this week and responds to a current event - San Francisco's proposed ban of e-cigarettes and the popular Juul device. Gunnar notes that he has some complex feelings when he comes across a smoker or someone who uses an e-cigarette - on one hand he recognizes addiction as an illness unto itself, but the economic burden of lifestyle illness on the healthcare system is significant and difficult to look past. Tiffany relates stories of protecting herself at concerts and the time she confronted a smoker while she was on the transplant list.

Somer Love joins Tiff on this week where the two talk about "reinventing" themselves after they both hit significant birthdays in the past month of May. Somer and Tiff talk about how they have this sense of wanting to take a new journey and start over in a way. Somer talks about going to her favorite place, San Diego, and having the ocean steer her in the right direction. Tiff wants to take this new lease and get a job, move out, and *hopefully* get married in the near future. Somer and Tiff go on about support systems and how important having good friends is to boost you to your full potential.

After a long stretch of featuring guests on the podcast, Gunnar and Tiffany return to the show's roots and have a chat with each other. Tiffany, who just returned from Hawaii with her boyfriend, Jeff, talks about being able to enjoy an active vacation after years on the transplant list. Now that she's post transplant, though, she needs to take sun sensitivity very seriously, and talks through some of the precautionary steps she takes to prevent prolonged sun exposure. Gunnar tells Tiffany that he has been trying out different exercise classes and plans to report on the ones he thinks are best for people with CF in the coming weeks. Gunnar also mentions that the Boomer Esiason Foundation is at the tail end of peak fundraising season, and shares one of his favorite BEF memories. Gunnar and Tiffany wrap up the show with a new segment - recommends - where they each talk about something their listeners should try!

Chelsea Spruance rejoins the podcast along with Katie Malik, executive director of CF Yogi, to talk about their organization's free virtual yoga classes for the CF community! Katie talks about the origins of CF Yogi, and where it's headed thanks to a grant from the Boomer Esiason Foundation. Gunnar shares that he went to his first every yoga class, and how he was wildly under prepared! Chelsea and Katie discuss the benefits of practicing yoga for people with cystic fibrosis and how they can join CF Yogi!

As May comes to a close, Breathe In wraps up CF Awareness Month with two final sprint interviews. Lise-Courtney D'Amico rejoins the podcast to chat with Gunnar about how their college experiences differed despite going to the same university - Boston College. They also talk about their next chapters in life as both of them are about to embark on a two year MBA journey, Gunnar to Tuck at Dartmouth and Lise-Courtney to Booth at University of Chicago. Tiffany is joined by Hailee Higley, 23, a mother living with cystic fibrosis. Their conversation begins with learning how Hailee's grandma was diagnosed with CF in her 50's when Hailee was diagnosed. The two then chat about Hailee's amazing pregnancy that she says her baby "healed" her CF. Hailee's story is amazing and she surprises the podcast with a new update on her family!

Gunnar and Tiffany continue May with another week of spring interviews! Tiffany talks with Tyler Smith, 23, who is living with cystic fibrosis and almost a year out from his double lung transplant, Tyler talks about his life growing up with CF and how sport was something that kept him healthy. He played golf and baseball year round and even received awards and titles. The two talk about his decline in health and how marriage was a huge priority in his life. His love story is sure to give you the chills and make you smile. Gunnar talks with Chase Nichols, 28 with cystic fibrosis living in Denver Colorado about coping with cysitc fibrosis. Chase describes his path with CF and different methods he uses to cope with CF, including medicinal marijuana, which is legalized in Colorado. He also talks about losing his sister to CF and how that shapes his personality today. Ultimately Chase prefers to approach his CF through a positive lens!

Breathe In features two more interviews this week as we continue charging through CF Awareness Month. Danielle Mandella, 32 with CF, joins Gunnar to talk about her very unique path through transplant. As one of the very few people with cystic fibrosis to have ever received a living donor lobe transplant, in lieu of a double lung transplant, some 16 years ago, Danielle talks about some of the major differences she experienced with her journey... including an amazing story about who her living donors were! Clark Huddleston, 29, living with CF joins Tiffany to discuss working on the road with cystic fibrosis. Clark chats about his jobs with the music festival industry and how he managed cystic fibrosis. Tiffany and Clark talk about disclosing cystic fibrosis to the employer and how Clark managed that with his on the road job, Both chat about how they grew up knowing each other at only a few months old.

In keeping with the theme for May, Breathe In features two interviews this week! Gunnar chats with Will Marler, 24 with cystic fibrosis from the UK. Will is the producer of 'Straight From the Lungs' podcast, which features Gunnar and 22 other people with cystic fibrosis! Will talks about the project, which began in 2016, as well as his involvement in the UK CF community, which includes his participation in the UK national CF conference. Gunnar notes that in the United States, patients are not widely included in NACFC, and points to the UK's conference as a way CFF can learn and adapt. Tiffany talks with Jackie Price, a 27 year old woman living with cystic fibrosis and a double lung transplant. They discuss Jackie’s sudden need for a double lung transplant after a routine sinus surgery! You think that is intense, wait until you hear the rest!

It's May... CF Awareness Month! Throughout the entire month Breathe In will be featuring several people with CF or people who play a role in improving patient health and wellness in each episode. This week's episode features Chelsea Spruance, 26 with cystic fibrosis, and Karen von Berg, a physical therapist at Johns Hopkins who works with cystic fibrosis patients. Chelsea, otherwise known on Instagram as @Salty_Yogi, talks about using Yoga as a way to build strength to recover from severe illness, becoming a Yoga instructor, living in the US Virgin Islands, and how she's able to manage CF care so far off the grid! Karen, who was, at one time, Lea's physical therapist, talks about how PT can be useful for people with cystic fibrosis trying to build respiratory and physical strength.

Marge Carfora is back with the Breathe In duo for her the final episode of her April residency. This time the group tackles a Buy or Sell episode. Slippers vs Socks in the hospital, CFer vs person with CF, a debate over the use of Cyster/Fibro, CFRD topics, mobile vests, mobile nebuilzers, nebulizer cups and more!

Breathe In features a segmented podcast this week! In the first part, Marge Carfora, who is back for another episode, Gunnar and Tiffany talk about medical expenses, co-pay assistance and assistance programs they use to make living with cystic fibrosis more affordable. Tiffany and Marge, specifically, reminisce on the coverage requirements leading up to their transplants. Marge mentions that although her father had a good insruance plan for the family since he was a firefighter, there was significant financial strain given that she, her mom and sister had to relocate half way across the country so that she could get listed for transplant. Tiffany mentions that she worked with Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to help crowd fund for her transplant. In the second part of the podcast, Tiffany talks with COTA CEO, Rick Lofgren about fundraising for transplants and how people with cystic fibrosis might apply!

To honor Organ Donation Awareness Month, Marge Carfora, 36 with cystic fibrosis and 14 years post double lung transplant, joins the podcast as the first ever resident guest host! Marge will feature on all the podcasts airing in the month of April. This episode tells most of Marge's life story, from diagnosis right after birth, through college, a double lung transplant in a time before the Lung Allocation Score, marriage, surviving three different types of cancer - Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), cervical cancer and breast cancer - and finally becoming a mother to twins! Marge talks about overcoming each obstacle, one at a time and using her attitude as the ultimate force driving her through each complication.

Steve Hall, 30 with cystic fibrosis from the DC area, joins the podcast to talk about the March Madness Bracket experience and this year's champion. Tiffany also returns to the podcast after a week off. This year's Cystic Fibrosis March Madness Bracket was eye opening in a lot of ways, most notably with the way the "invisible illness" affects families as a whole. Gunnar, Tiffany and Steve talk about the voting trends, the demographic of the voters and why they think the March Madness exercise is important for the community. Ultimately, it's agreed that the Cystic Fibrosis March Madness Bracket is a safe space for people with CF and their families to come together to talk about some of the topics presented in the bracket.

With Tiffany out this week, Gunnar is joined by Lise-Courtney D'Amico, 25 with cystic fibrosis from New York City, and Stacy Carmona, 32 with cystic fibrosis from Orange County, California. Lise-Courtney and Stacy were connected via Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's CF Peer Connect, which pairs two people with CF in a one-to-one peer mentoring program. Stacy was initially deemed "the mentor," but their friendship has blossomed to something far beyond the intended purpose of the program. The pair share stories with Gunnar about how they inspire each other from across the country, work hard through together through a common exercise class and how Lise-Courtney recently competed in the New York City Half Marathon with their friendship in mind. Gunnar and Lise-Courtney also talk about their time at Boston College where they overlapped one year, and reminisce about the time they ran into each other on campus.

The Cystic Fibrosis March Madness Bracket is back by popular demand. This year 64 'teams' will battle it out to claim the tile of "The most SMH thing someone has said to you about CF." Colleen Lewis, 33 with cystic fibrosis, joins the podcast this "Selection Thursday" episode. The bracket breaks down into four regions - Questions, Recommendations, Statements and Things Said to Parents/Partners/Friends. Laugh along with Breathe In this week as we get set to vote on our very own bracket challenge! Voting opens 3/22 on the Breathe In and Salty Cysters Instagram pages, as well as GunnarEsiason.com

Aubrey Kostelec, 22 with cystic fibrosis, joins Gunnar and Tiffany for an emergency podcast following a crazy day within the cystic fibrosis community after it was discovered Five Feet Apart launched an insensitive ad campaign relating cystic fibrosis to general lifestyle inconveniences. The patient community has railed to demand a public apology from the filmmakers, production company and Justin Baldoni.

Breathe In is coming at you with a new style of podcast, this week we are introducing "segments." The first half of the podcast includes Gunnar and Tiffany talking about how they are able to make medical decisions, and control conversations inside the clinic. They lean on information coming from care providers, while also balancing quality of life, and anecdotal experiences form other patients. The second half of the podcast is an interview with Folia Health. Gunnar interviews Nell Meosky Luo, founder and CEO of Folia, and Celeste Hermes, a sophomore at the University of Texas, CF patient and project coordinator at Folia. Nell and Celeste talk about giving patients and care providers a look at the qualitative experience of living with cystic fibrosis through the Folia portal, as well as some of their up and coming program initiatives designed to give patients the tools necessary to live well!

Molly Pam, 30 with cystic fibrosis, joins the podcast all the way from Israel. Molly talks about living abroad with cystic fibrosis (and studying abroad as a college study) with low lung function. She also takes Gunnar and Tiffany through the Cystic Fibrosis Reproductive and Sexual Health Collaborative's (CFReSHC) upcoming projects and initiatives, including a family building guide. A common theme across the CF community is that when it comes time to think about family planning/building, there just aren't enough resources out there, and CFReSHC aims to a go to place for those needs!

Morgan Gindstaff, 28 with cystic fibrosis, and Caitlin Lombardi, 23 with cystic fibrosis, join Gunnar and Tiffany on the podcast this week for a friendly debate over the pros and cons of the forthcoming movie, Five Feet Apart. The lead in to the movie and the PR campaign around it have been polarizing, where some people with cystic fibrosis are excited to see their illness portrayed on the big screen, whereas other think the movie is exploitative and romanticizes the cystic fibrosis experience.

Two very special guests join the podcast this week, Gunnar's girlfriend Darcy and Tiffany's boyfriend, Jeff! Leading into the episode the duo asked the Instagram community to direct the conversation, so rather than repetitive about, "how to tell someone new about CF," the chat turns towards diving into some of the guilt people with CF may feel in their lives, what does it mean to be part of the support system, some initial hurdles that come with any relationship (not just one that includes CF), and what friends and family may say to the a person who starts dating someone living with CF. This is a new take on a relationship episode!

Gunnar is back on the podcast after his voice has finally recovered! Rima Manomaitis (also known as @Lung_Story_Short on Instagram) joins Gunnar and Tiffany for a Feeding Tube Awareness week podcast. Rima takes the podcast through her double lung transplant process, talks about moving halfway across the country despite failing health and notes that she's had a feeding tube for about 12 years. Tiffany doesn't look back on her g-tube days with any pleasure whatsoever, and even tells a cringeworthy story about getting an Nasal-Gastric (NG) tube placed in the days following her own transplant. The podcast changes directions to talk about dating, body appearance with a g-tube and anything else that can happen with g-tubes, including the time Gunnar's fell out of his stomach in the middle of the night!

Tiffany is joined by a fellow double lung transplant recipient, Auburn Stevens, who has had over 30 sinus surgeries due to cystic fibrosis. The two chat about how Auburn has had 2 lobectomies before her transplant, which is a new concept for Tiffany. Auburn shares reasons for her surgeries of sinuses and a major scary in office procedure where her sinus cavity was expanded with a balloon. Tiffany talks about her first sinus surgery after transplant and her experience with the recovery. Auburn and Tiffany reminisce on all their sinus problems throughout their lives and inform the listeners of what happens in the sinuses with a cystic fibrosis patient. Auburn ends it with advice to those who may need a sinus surgery in the near future.

With Tiffany away on vacation, Elsie Tellier, 21 with cystic fibrosis and a senior at Harvard joins the podcast this week. Elsie is a passionate disabilities advocate and fashion blogger. She talks to us about some of her work within the Harvard disabilities association and how she had to fight uphill to advocate for proper accommodations, while also pursing her studies. She talks about going from a small town care center in Winnipeg to a bigger one in Boston, and how fighting through different health care issues has taught her how to advocate for herself in different situations. The conversation turns to Star Wars as Gunnar finally gets a guest on the podcast who shares his love for the series, though, they do have a disagreement about the "Phantom Menace." Finally, Elsie shares why she has been so critical of "Five Feet Apart" and, as she calls it, "sick lit." Elise has been cited in her argument against the film in a number of different publications, including Teen Vogue. The podcast wraps up with some advice from Elise to cystic fibrosis college students.

Gunnar and Tiffany return to Breathe In after a brief hiatus to talk about New Year's "goals" since Gunnar doesn't like the term, "resolutions." The pair go through some health related goals to begin. For Gunnar, he wants to try out yoga after taking advice from another person living with cystic fibrosis. Tiffany wants to continue to live to honor Lea and use her new lungs to the absolute fullest. Gunnar also notes he wants to read more, while Tiffany talks about starting up a daily journal. Breathe In cracked the top 200 "health" podcasts on iTunes at the end of 2018!

Join Gunnar and Tiffany in celebrating the life of Lea Faraone as told by Lea's voice! Tiffany and Gunnar remember Lea, one half of the Salty Cysters and the pulse of the Breathe In trio, in this very special episode that goes back and pulls clips from past episodes. Laugh, cry, but most importantly share in the love that was Lea's life. We will miss Lea very much! We love you, Lea!

Somer Love is back on the podcast to talk about her open letter to family and friends about the holidays and cold/flu season. Gunnar, Tiffany and Somer chat about some of the precautions they take when it comes to health and safety during family gatherings and how they communicate their needs to their family and friends. The three discuss a recent tweet from Seth MacFarlane and how some people have been offended by his seemingly offhanded comment about coughing in public spaces. Tiffany also mentions that her friends are very aware of her immunosuppressed status following transplant. Finally the conversation ends with a few words about discussing some healthy habits in places of mass transportation.

Tiffany's lifelong best friend, Kelsey Sleek, joins the podcast to celebrate Tiffany's 2nd lungiversary! On November 30, 2016, Tiffany was wheeled into the operating room for a life saving double lung transplant, and her life has changed for the better ever since. Kelsey talks about the support system side of cystic fibrosis and what it was like to be there for Tiffany through the up's and down's and then eventually, the several year wait on the transplant list and through the surgery itself. Tiffany, who gets a bit emotional (which leads to an entire podcast meltdown!), talks about what it meant to have such a strong support systems in the midst of such a challenging time. She even says that it felt like she wasn't the only one with CF - her friends had it, her parents had it and everyone in between - because everyone in her life went through the same difficult journey to get her to the transplanted lungs. Join us in celebrating Tiffany's 2nd lungiversary!

Tiffany and Lea chat with Miss Los Gatos 2019, Camille Hunziker, a 22 year old pageant queen who has dedicated her time raising awareness for cystic fibrosis as a “Queen for a Cure.” The girls ask about how Camille got into pageants. She explains how the pageants work and how it’s been such a positive addition to her life with confidence. Camille shares how she got involved with the CF community and how “Queen for a Cure” came to be. She talks about how special the community is to her and what her plans are for her advocacy in the future. Camille is on her way to Miss California competition, where she has competed before and made it to the Elite 20. She shares her plans after the competition if she wins!

Meredith Gaito, 26 with cystic fibrosis, joins the podcast to talk about her experience with running the NYC Marathon with Team Boomer just a few weeks ago! Meredith mentions that uses exercise and physical fitness as a way to actively treat her CF, she talks about her training routine and overcoming an infection in the weeks leading up to the marathon. Meredith is also the director of a cystic fibrosis documentary that is in post production, "Breathing on Everest," which follows Nick Talbot's journey to becoming the first person with cystic fibrosis to summit Mt. Everest. She talks about some of the challenges her production crew had to overcome by virtue of having multiple people with CF work on the same movie and also the physical limitations placed upon her by her health, which prevented her from joining the team in Nepal. Despite all of the adversity, Meredith is super excited for the CF community to see her finished product within the next year. Meredith also weighs in on "Five Feet Apart" from a filmmaker's perspective and the trio discusses disaster relief for CF victims of the ongoing California wildfires.

The trailer for "Five Feet Apart" dropped last weekend, so the trio shares their initial thoughts about cystic fibrosis on the Silver Screen. Gunnar has been outspoken about some of the issues he has with the film as seen through the lens of the trailer, from portraying people with CF as being consumed by death to pity-seeking victims. Tiffany is a little bit more optimistic for the forthcoming movie and has even reached out to director Justin Baldoni. Lea shares that she suffered from an anxiety attack just hours after watching the trailer. The chat turns to the topic of awareness. Many commenters in the CF community are accepting the film for what it's worth under the guise of "awareness," so the group chats about what it may mean for the community at large. Ultimately the trio does agree that the storyline and marketing campaign around the film has seemed tone-deaf, which has absolutely created a significant divide within the CF community. The podcast finishes with an appeal for the production company to address the issues that this film has seemingly created within the larger patient and family population.

Amanda Varnes, 23 with cystic fibrosis, joins the podcast to talk about CFRD, double lung retransplantation and fungal infections. Amanda's battle with CF has been nothing short of inspiring, and is clearly evident in her amazingly bubbly personality. Amanda contracted a pan-resistant fungal infection at an early age, which led to her first double lung transplant in 2015. Rejection led her to a second transplant in 2017. The podcast also dedicates time to CFRD, which Amanda was diagnosed with when she was 16. Amanda talks about the emotional and physical burden that CF put on her in high school and offers some advice to families new to the world of CFRD.

Breathe In responds to Gunnar's blog "It is Possible to be 100% Compliant With Your CF Treatments – You’re Wrong If You Think Otherwise." The blog ended up being quite divisive, so the trio seeks to know "why?" Gunnar, Lea and Tiffany agree that it is possible to compliant with their mediations 100% of the time and they say why they are in their own lives. The conversation gets a bit heated when they start to respond to some of the comments on the blog post... [listener discretion advised for some language] You can see the blog post here: http://www.gunnaresiason.com/possible-100-compliant-cf-treatments-youre-wrong-think-otherwise/

Breathe In wraps up NACFC week with another Facebook Live podcast. Gunnar and Tiffany are again joined by Amy and Darcy. The group starts the conversation with feedback on the "partnering" plenary, before moving on to "disease disclose," mental health and CF & working. The conversation turns towards each host's favorite part from the conference, what they didn't like and what they want more of next year!

The trio is not only joined by Amy again, but also Darcy today. For those of you who may be new to the podcast, Darcy, who doesn't have CF, is Gunnar's partner and a licensed social worker (LMSW). Darcy joins the podcast LIVE from NACFC in Denver. She gives her perspective on being at the conference and all the opportunities that sadly aren't readily afford to patients who can't attend out of fear of cross infection. Darcy also shares a little bit of both good news and bad news with the podcast about the state of mental health care in cystic fibrosis. The conversation also focuses on the plenaries from last night and this morning, which discussed infections and inflammation respectively. The podcast ends with a few questions from the Facebook Live audience and a some thoughts from today's co-hosts about how to make NACFC more patient inclusive, while also giving patients the ability to virtually network...like the people who are able to attend in person.

The 2018 North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference is here! Breathe In will be recording LIVE podcasts Thursday, Friday and Saturday during the conference on the Boomer Esiason Foundation's Facebook page. In this episode, the trio is joined by Amy, 37 years old with cystic fibrosis. Amy is currently writing Drug Development Wednesday articles on Gunnar's blog. They recap the morning live stream session: airway clearance vs. exercise, airway clearance devices and disease severity. Amy has been very vocal about patient involvement in NACFC, so the conversation turns to how Cystic Fibrosis Foundation may better include patients in an event that otherwise excludes them. Finally the podcast wraps up with a few questions from live listeners and what the group is looking forward to most over the next couple of days!

Breathe In kicks off Season 2 with an episode dedicated to world travel. Lea just returned home a trip to Europe, while Gunnar is coming off a month and half worth of business trips. The trio recognizes that traveling with CF can be a stress point, especially because of packing and repacking medications before and during a trip. Lea and Tiffany say they organize their medications by each day when they pack. Gunnar, on the other hand, organizes his medications into their delivery methods - oral vs. inhaled. The group also talks about the importance of being transparent with airlines, airport workers and security agents. Finally, Tiffany (of course) brings Taylor Swift into the conversation, but Gunnar and Lea talk about their displeasure with her last album.

Cystic fibrosis is a brutal, unrelenting illness, but there is a lighter side to the disease. Like anything in life, simple mistakes or seemingly very serious experiences can also be funny. Gunnar, Lea and Tiffany tell of a few times when cystic fibrosis led to uncontrollable laughter, from recovery room stories, to the "smelly side" of CF, uncomfortable conversations and a number of awkward moments. The trio also agrees that humor is an effective coping mechanism and hopes that others are able to look back on some very serious moments and laugh!

The trio talks about the times they've experienced guilt in dealing with CF. Guilt comes in many ways, and as Gunnar says, isn't generally recognized until after the fact. He thinks guilt masks itself as frustration or anger. Guilt seeps into their lives mostly when they are sick and they feel like people are making unusual accommodations. Lea mentions that guilt is one of her most difficult challenges to deal with. She talks about having a hard time articulating her guilt to her support system and struggles with accepting helping. Tiffany talks about the days before her transplant when she was entirely reliant on her parents to survive. How does guilt impact your life with CF?

"Buy or Sell" is back by popular demand! The rules of the game are simple, each host has to buy or sell a CF topic. If they "buys" it, that means they support the topic or technique. Conversely a "sell" rating means they disagree. The trio discusses CF topics from CF tattoos, to sterilization techniques, vaccines, sinus rinses, sharing medical info on social media, home PFT machines, E-Flows, clinical trial participation, disclosing CF to an employer or recruiter and more!