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CF in Adults 'that was then' transcript

 

Jo - Now, I have to do a lot more to keep healthy. If I don't do physio for just one day, I feel it. Whereas, 10 years ago, I went away to Queensland for 10 days and didn't do physio or ventolin nebulisers, and I got away with it. I came back quite chesty, but still got through it and didn't have an admission into hospital. My first real admission for my chest was when I was 16. Up until then, I just had gastro problems.

Peter - Up until I was 24, I'd lived a pretty normal life. Primary school was never a problem. Sports were never a problem. High school was the same, football teams, swimming teams, weren't particularly an issue. I think problems became more apparent as I reached my early twenties.

Sue A. - When I was an adolescent I was so ill, that I didn't have the luxury of hiding CF. Anyone who looked at me could see that I had trouble breathing and that I was very thin. I just didn't go around like other kids, so saying ‘no' wasn't even an option, I just couldn't do it.

Julie - Vanessa's health, through her early childhood, was quite good. We had a few problems with bowel blockages. As far as lung problems and chest problems, we didn't have any problems with that, until she reached about 12 years of age.

Sue B. - Just perfumes or things in the environment. I have to watch my daughter, who's 14, who buys body sprays and things like that. I have to watch what she buys. She has to run it by me. Same as deodorant, you just have to be so careful now.

Amber and Stephen - I find that I'm taking more time looking after myself. I watch what I eat. If I feel like I'm getting a bit sick, I call the doctor and make an appointment, either to go into hospital or to see him. As an adolescent, if I got sick, I never let on to my mum. I'd just wait until the last minute and when I went into hospital, I'd be really, really ill. Which meant a longer stay in hospital.

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