Bitch I Lived - Welcome to my story!

Hello Reader!

Welcome to the Bitch I Lived Blog where I will be sharing my life story with Cystic Fibrosis and double lung transplant! It's a wild ride so strap in and get ready to hear the twist and turns with chronic illness and thriving after a double lung transplant.

I welcome any questions and engagement and I look forward to hear from hopefully people like myself who have or will be going through the transplant journey.

I also hope to offer encouragement to those who share a similar to story to myself in the hopes that, that feeling of loneliness is a little less felt through a disease and journey that ultimately feels isolating.

Double lung transplant was brought up to me in 2015 where I saw my lung function fall in to the mid 30 percentile. At this point my Cystic Fibrosis team brought up the likely hood of my soon needing a new set of lungs. Ultimately, I new much earlier than 2015 that this was going to be something I would need at some point in my life but to hear that you are heading in the direction of live or die, it doesn't make it any less harder to hear.

I will be sharing all about my life with CF (Cystic Fibrosis) and living with new lungs. I will be focusing on what is about a 5 year timeline but who knows where this blog will veer off to as I continue along.

I will be talking about the fears that come with being chronically ill and losing that ability to breathe about the first 1.5 to 2 years prior to getting new lungs which lead up to the assessment of transplant. This means the testing that comes with being looked at as a potential candidate for transplant. 'Are you sick enough?' 'Am I too sick?' Leading in to talking about the transplant itself and post surgery experience. The positives, negatives, traumatic moments and the learning how to live life after transplant. Looking at the new sense of normal, learning to breathe like a normal person, working, marriage, friendships, relationships etc. that are changed, lost, gained after surgery.

So, again welcome! You can also follow me on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@recycledlungs?lang=en

Thank you for being here!

Ashley / Bitch I Lived