So Much More Than CF

My daughter Caroline is two years old. She is brimming with joy and curiosity. She seeks out adventure everywhere she goes. She is strong-willed and confident in a sea of strangers. She jumps in her bed at night to keep herself awake and she loves frozen raspberries. She loves to make others laugh. She is creative and smart and she has cystic fibrosis.

Diagnosed with CF at two weeks old

When Caroline was first diagnosed with CF, at two weeks old. It was difficult for me to imagine all of the things she would be or do, besides a person with CF fighting an internal battle everyday. Every time I looked at her for those first few weeks after the diagnosis, CF was at the forefront of my mind. My heart was broken because I thought CF would always be this big, heavy piece of her life that would grow and grow until it took up every inch of who she was.

Caroline's smile

And then...she smiled.

Caroline's first smile was a turning point for me, as her mother, in how I viewed CF's role in her life. With something as simple as her smile, CF was removed from the forefront of my mind and placed in the background. I saw that she was happy. I saw that she loved me and felt safe with me. I saw that despite CF, and the hours of treatments she endured that day, she was smiling right now.

Caroline's quality of life with CF

With time, as Caroline grew and expressed more and more of her personality, wants, desires, dislikes, and interests with us, CF shrunk into the background. I began to truly see Caroline and realized she is so much more than CF.

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