Andy Lipman's Blog, page 6

Social Distancing – My “Normal”

Being that it’s CF awareness month, I thought I would explain how people with CF have been dealing with a pandemic their entire lives. People with cystic fibrosis like myself are recommended not to get within six feet of other CF patients due to bacterial cross-contamination. There are certain bacteria like pseudomonas aeruginosa that can stay in a CF patient’s lungs. If a “normal” person contracted this bacteria, it would not be a big deal. If a person with CF has the bacteria, it can damage his or her lungs significantly. Once pseudomonas is established in the airways, it can be difficult to eliminate. The bacteria can be spread by touching such as shaking hands or kissing and thrives in moist environments such as bathrooms, hot tubs and sinks so it’s very important for us to wash our hands and not touch our face when using these things. Sounds familiar, huh? This is one of the reasons I have always carried hand sanitizer with me even before the pandemic.

Obviously it’s different if siblings or parents and children both have the disease. That’s one of those situations where you try to just make sure to separate each person’s equipment (nebulizer cups mostly) and keep an eye out when one of them is having an exacerbation. So those of us with CF have been living with social distancing our whole lives. Many of you may have read the book or seen the movie Five Feet Apart. It’s the story of two patients who fall in love and both have cystic fibrosis. The movie is about how they handle social distancing.

I know what you are probably saying. There are only 30,000 people in the United States with cystic fibrosis. The odds that you’ll see another person with cystic fibrosis are .00009%. When I go into my CF clinic, the odds change. When I go to a CF-related event, the odds change. When I give a CF-related speech, the odds change. I’m not saying that I have been in a situation like this one when social distancing is the norm around everyone. I haven’t. I do know that because of cystic fibrosis I have always been cognizant to stay more than six feet away from anyone who was coughing, sneezing or who just didn’t look well. My dad used to force me to go home when we worked together when anyone in the office was under the weather. It made me feel alienated though I understood why he did it. I always wear masks when Andrea and I take the kids to their pediatrician and I always wear them when I fly despite all of the interesting looks I get. Social distancing is never easy but when it comes down to the choice of wearing a mask or wearing a ventilator, I’ll gladly choose the former.

The picture I’ve included may look like any other picture of three people. It isn’t. This is one of me and my Facebook friend Kari Rose when I spoke in Portland, Oregon in 2015. We both wanted a picture together but since Kari and I both have CF we had to be careful. She is on one side and I am on the other with one of Kari’s family members who doesn’t have CF in between us. This is not the first picture of its kind. I did some research and saw an article in which two young men were on the University of Maryland Men’s Lacrosse team. One worked for the team and the other played on it. Though they were on the same team, neither ever got within six feet of each other. Somewhat remarkable. It didn’t seem to bother the team though as they won the NCAA Division I Lacrosse National Championship.

Social distancing has been a big topic in the world lately and I can tell you that I have done many speeches with other people with CF in the room over the years and we have stayed six feet away from each other and often worn masks. It can be a nuisance but for us it’s more than that. It’s life or death.

Just remember that people who have difficulty breathing like me wear masks every day to protect ourselves and those around us who may have a lung disease, be immuno-comprised or who are getting up there in age. All we are asking is that you return the favor to protect us too.

Live your dreams and love your life.

#socialdistancing
#cfawareness
#cfawarenessmonth
#cysticfibrosis

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Please Follow The Rules

As a person with an underlying condition, here is what I’d like to say regarding social distancing in public places like restaurants, bowling alleys, gyms, etc. If these businesses are following the rules regarding social distancing, cleaning anything that could possibly be shared and wearing masks while making sure their clients are following the rules too, then I’m okay with it. That doesn’t mean I have to attend nor does anyone else who is uncomfortable but I’m okay with it because I realize the economy needs a boost and people need to put food on their tables. Makes perfect sense to me.

Now, on the other hand, if a restaurant or public place is not following the rules, they should be shut down immediately until they do so. Some people have responded to me because I’m at high risk thanks to cystic fibrosis, “Andy, just don’t go!” For those people, let me say “You’re not getting it.” That does not fix anything. My lack of attendance there doesn’t mean the virus won’t spread to others when the rules are not being followed.

Let’s be clear. This is NOT just about me. This is about the entire human race. Anyone who thinks just about themselves right now is being selfish and there’s no time for selfishness right now. The longer we don’t follow the rules, the longer those of us with underlying conditions will have to quarantine. The longer we don’t follow the rules, businesses and schools will have to continuously be reopened and then shut down again. The longer we don’t follow the rules, more people will get sick and sadly more people will die.

Please wear your masks in public. Please protect your loved ones and perfect strangers who have done nothing to you by social distancing. Please wash your hands. Please don’t touch your face. Please stop complaining about the “new normal.” It’s time to start adhering to it.

Please follow the rules so we don’t have to keep starting over.

Let’s do this!

Thank you.
Andy

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Running for My Life

What if Michael Jordan had never picked up a basketball or Tiger Woods had never picked up a golf club? What if J.K. Rowling had never picked up a book? What if someone I knew never forced me to lace up a pair of running shoes? Being that it’s #cfawarenessmonth and we could all use an inspirational story during this pandemic, I wanted to share the story of how I learned to run for my life.

As a fourth grader, I couldn’t finish a single lap due to the fact that I let a cystic fibrosis (CF) diagnosis ruin my life. Earlier that year, I’d read in an encyclopedia that I was not supposed to reach the age of 25. I knew how bad my lungs were already and how much worse they were only going to get. My mom obliged by writing notes to excuse me from participating so I didn’t have to try to compete with my classmates in PE (Physical Education class). I was always embarrassed to just sit there and watch as my peers easily ran laps around the indoor gymnasium. Each time I tried to emulate them I failed due to my lack of stamina. I just assumed that having cystic fibrosis was the reason I would never succeed in running. At first, I was upset by this but eventually something even worse happened – I accepted it.

While I was trying to figure out how to run a lap in gym class, my Uncle Bobby was busy conquering race after race and receiving commemorative shirts and hard-fought medals. Not only had he run the 10 kilometer Peachtree Road Race several times, but he had also conquered the San Francisco, Grandma’s (Duluth, Minnesota) and New York City Marathons. I was always fascinated with all of his race shirts and medals and asked what it was like to run.

My parents, my Aunt Susie (my mom’s sister) and Uncle Bobby knew I had an interest in running and that this activity could drastically improve my lung function. They discussed what needed to be done. In stepped Uncle Bobby. His coaching skills were not for the thin-skinned. He was a former head football coach at the Georgia School for the Deaf state residential high school who got into running at the age of 30 because his players told him he was out of shape. Boy did he show them! Bobby ended up taking the team on bus rides to run 5 kilometer races on the weekends. The entire team got into great shape.

Bobby made fun of me when I couldn’t do something and pushed me to better myself. I had never had this sort of instructor. No adult had ever made fun of me for having cystic fibrosis. It was almost taboo. The thing was though that he wasn’t making fun of me for “having” cystic fibrosis. He was ridiculing me for how I was “handling” having cystic fibrosis. After a while he started to annoy me but that level of frustration created something in me that was somewhat new – desire! I wanted to prove him wrong. I wanted to prove my classmates wrong. I wanted to prove cystic fibrosis wrong!

I slowly went from not being able to run a mile to running two, three and even four miles. I went from sitting on my butt on the weekends to running 3k and 5k races with my uncle and amassing my own collection of shirts. That hard work translated into success at school, too. I went from not completing laps and many times not even competing with my classmates to finishing amongst my top three peers and winning the most improved fourth grade athlete at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian School in the 1982-1983 school year. That award took on a lot of personal meaning for me. I didn’t feel like an outsider anymore because of cystic fibrosis. I knew that anything was feasible if I put in the work.

Running has definitely changed my life. Who am I kidding? It probably saved it too. The last few decades as I’ve gotten back into running I’ve seen my perspective on CF change. I used to see running as a way to try and escape cystic fibrosis. Now I don’t worry as much about CF chasing me. I worry about chasing my own dreams.

These days, I’m able to run three to five miles a day and run between 25 to 30 miles a week. I’ve run the legendary Peachtree Road Race 23 consecutive years. My lung function has exploded from seventy and eighty percentile in my thirties to miraculously ninety-five percentile in my forties. I credit Trikafta, the new CF breakthrough drug, for assisting my lungs but I’d be remiss if I didn’t also credit running for keeping me strong enough to benefit from this drug.

Bobby earned three degrees all from Georgia State where he taught sign language to undergraduates and graduates who were going into speech therapy and deaf education for the last 10 years of his career. He has since moved to Florida and retired after running the Peachtree Road Race an incredible 35 consecutive years from 1978 to 2012. My goal is to run at least thirteen more consecutive races to break his family record. I’m very proud that at least one of us has run this race for the last 42 years!

I owe Uncle Bobby a debt of gratitude for taking a chance on a 10-year old boy with cystic fibrosis and helping him to do something that most people were not sure that he could do.

He taught me how to run for my life, and that’s exactly what I will continue to do.

Live your dreams and love your life!

Andy

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Who Can I Trust in the Pandemic Age?

Trust is an issue for many of us. Who do we trust and what do we do when someone breaks that trust? I’ve been dealing with these concerns a lot lately.

Recently I’ve been confronted with an issue that is somewhat new to our world – social distancing. Over the last few months, it is something I preach and my family and I have been adhering to it to the best of our ability. Does that mean I don’t see anyone? Nope, I’ve talked to people on the street but I’m making sure that we are separated by at least six to ten feet. Am I going to drive-by parties? Absolutely. I’m just making sure not to leave my car. We are letting the kids know that we can have people come over but the rule is that they have to be 10 feet away, bring their own chairs or blankets to sit on outside and we can’t share anything. And they absolutely cannot come into the house. Is it a pain? Sure. Would I rather give my children free reign? Absolutely. Would I rather be using a ventilator to breathe because the rules of social distancing were too difficult to follow? Hell no!

Andrea and I have been explaining to our children the last few months why we have to be so careful. They understand. After all, they live with a dad with cystic fibrosis. We’ve always been careful not to invite anyone over if we’ve heard they have been sick. My close friends are always kind enough to call me ahead of time to let me know if they aren’t 100% and they don’t want to risk it or they give me the option. It’s very much appreciated. It’s just one of the reasons why we are such good friends.

Not everyone though can be trusted, unfortunately. I recently learned one of the families in our kids’ school threw a party with several kids attending. I didn’t want to assume anything so I just hoped the children were practicing social distancing. Unfortunately, some of the kids posted pictures from the party and I know now that social distancing was not being practiced. I just don’t understand how parents can host—not to mention—allow their children to attend parties where social distancing is not being practiced during this pandemic. They are putting their older and immunocompromised friends and relatives at risk. The other issue is now having to explain to my children that we can’t even take these risks that these others are taking. The thing is, I’m lucky because my kids get it. They know that if I were to catch COVID-19 that my odds of survival are less than most others my age and that even if I do survive, my lung function will be lessened severely. I want to give my children everything, but leeway on this matter is just not something Andrea and I can afford to provide them. To their credit, they haven’t even asked for it.

I know that not everyone is thinking about me with regards to practicing social distancing nor do I want them to, but I do hope that they are thinking of their grandparents, parents, and other high-risk relatives whose lives could change dramatically if they are to contract the virus. To some, social distancing and wearing masks in public is a nuisance. To someone like me, it’s life or death. I don’t want to judge people because honestly what authority do I have to judge anyone. I’m just concerned because I don’t know who to trust anymore.

In the state of Georgia, I’m still angry at the number of public places that were opened up despite warnings from infectious disease doctors and even President Trump not to do so. I understand our economy needs to be jump-started, but bowling alleys, gyms, and tattoo parlors are not the places that I would recommend opening initially. Just today, we had over 1,200 new cases of COVID-19 and we have yet to flatten the curve though our governor has said we have.

People talk about having trouble trusting again after a failed relationship. I’m having trouble trusting those who govern my state, people I’m friends with on social media, and people I’ve known for years who always told me and my family that they had our best interests at heart.

I thought it was bad enough worrying about a life-threatening pandemic. Apparently, there is a lot more to worry about.

Live your dreams and love your life.
Andy

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It was the Worst of Times; It was the Best of Times

It was the worst of times. It was the best of times. That was the classic beginning to Charles Dicken’s “A Tale of Two Cities.” It doesn’t just have to be a quote in a book. It can be a way we survive through this pandemic.

Good morning. It’s a new day in the United States. Recently here in my native state of Georgia, places like gyms, hair salons and bowling alleys were opened up to try to reignite the economy. A lot of people are nervous. You can include me in that group as I have an underlying condition called cystic fibrosis which primarily affects my lungs and therefore I am one of those at high risk. Am I a bit scared? Sure. Do I have a solution? Yes, I do.

If you’re not comfortable going out right now, simply don’t go out. I know not everyone has that option as some people are financially in flux and must keep working to survive. To those people I say to please do all the research you can, stay six feet apart from everyone and wear your masks wherever you go. If you’re sick of what you see on the news, simply stop watching. And if you’re simply sick of feeling “stuck” at home, get unstuck.

How do you do that? Well, the first two suggestions I proposed are easy. Stay at home (if you can), turn off the TV and take a break from social media. The third one is a little more complicated but very doable. How do I know? Because I’m doing it.
So what do you do if you feel stuck at home? Change the way you look at things. Don’t look at staying home as an obstacle. Look at it more as a challenge – a challenge to you to get your life in order.

Let’s start with your physical health. This is a great chance to find a great exercise program. Just because you don’t have a gym doesn’t mean you can’t exercise. There was a guy the other day who ran a marathon in his apartment. Yes, I said that right. And no, he did not own a treadmill. That may a bit on the extreme end. Even if you don’t have a single weight, you can exercise. You can do pushups, jumping jacks, crunches, sit-ups and so many other exercises. If you have a workout band and/or a jump rope, there are more exercises that you can do. Find a program that works for you and stick to it. You can also go for a walk or even a light jog and if you’re concerned, you can wear some sort of a mask to cover your mouth. If you have a personal trainer or know of one, see if they’ll train you virtually. I know that many trainers are doing that now.

Let’s say you want to lose weight, here’s another great opportunity. Try to eat better and do some research into a plan that works for you. There are so many different diets out there but you definitely have time to try a few. Make sure you consult your doctor first before you try anything to make sure it won’t be a problem for you.

In my opinion, before you can start any diet or workout plan, you have to be prepared mentally. Roughly 18% of the adult population in the United States deals with anxiety and another 18 million adults deal with depression. Those numbers are probably higher than ever now given our circumstances. If you deal with either of these, here is a good opportunity to try meditation or maybe calling and/or doing zoom conferences with your friends. If that doesn’t work, there are therapists that are doing virtual sessions. I currently work with both a psychiatrist and a therapist and I am having phone conferences with both since the beginning of the pandemic.

There are other great ways to stay busy. Perhaps you want to organize your storage closet. Maybe you want to work on those jigsaw puzzles you’ve had for years or play board games with your children for the first time in years. Maybe you want to spend some time with your spouse or children and get to know them a lot better. These are all positive ways to spend the time.

It was the worst of times. It was the best of times. I say to stop concerning yourself with the former.” This doesn’t have to be the worst period of your life. In fact, maybe by improving your health, your attitude and your relationships, this could somehow be the best.

Live your dreams and love your life.
Andy

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Let’s Beat COVID-19!

Let’s Beat COVID-19!

There is good on this planet

I promise you that,

We’re taking less for granted,

And that is a fact.

People prepared to fight,

While we find a vaccine.

If we all do what’s right,

We’ll beat COVID-19.

Front line volunteers,

Leading the way.

Ignoring their fears,

Saving the day.

“Please stay home,”

Is all that they ask.

‘Cause they know,

It eases their task.

Give everyone six feet,

And don’t touch your face,

You can virtually meet,

During a shelter in place.

Sing the birthday song twice,

While washing your hands.

It would also be nice,

To postpone your plans.

We must stop all the hoarding,

But still be prepared,

Being patient will be rewarding,

When our world is repaired.

Though it might feel concerning.

To ask for assistance.

We are all still learning,

How to live from a distance.

It’s ok to be scared,

But no need to panic.

We just need to be prepared,

As we go and fix this planet.

It may take time,

So don’t get unnerved.

Cases may climb

Before we flatten the curve.

Take a break from the news,

Exercise is key,

Make a better you,

For everyone to see.

Try not to feel rattled,

If it’s difficult to cope.

We have to still battle,

And never give up hope.

Handshakes and long embraces,

Are certainly missed.

But soon they’ll be happy faces,

When a vaccine exists.

So just remember this,

Staying positive is the key.

And if each of us assists,

We’ll beat COVID-19.

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Please Don’t Label Me

Yesterday, my governor Brian Kemp (Georgia) decided to open up businesses. While I understand that slowly opening up the economy was probably necessary, his choices baffled me. For example, bowling alleys, gyms and movie theaters are not the first places I would open up. In fact, they would probably be last on my list besides maybe schools as they are extremely susceptible to germ-spreading. To say I’m disappointed in Governor Kemp’s decision would be an understatement.

When I finally fell asleep last night and believe me it took a long time, I had a dream that I was a kid again and everyone I knew along with myself was applying for high schools. Everyone got into the same school except for me. I was told by the guidance counselor that I just wasn’t like everyone else and had to accept that and I would have to stay where I was for a long time. I began to cry and so did the counselor who told me “That’s just how it is. I’m sorry.”

I woke up angry. I knew immediately what the dream meant. I usually don’t remember my dreams but this one was easy to recall. Maybe I’m not like everyone else but I don’t want to be labeled. I read a few posts last night of people that were not directly responding to me who said that the “sick” need to just stay home and the “well” people need to get the economy going again. While they may not have been directly speaking to me, I heard them loud and clear. 

Their comments made me feel useless that for some reason this is all my fault. Because I’m amongst the “sick,” other people are suffering because they’re not allowed to go out. I’m not calling out the people who posted these comments but if you are one of those people and you’re reading this, I have a few things to say. 

I am not useless. 

I am also not expendable. 

And let’s add one more thing. I am not SICK. 

I am just a person who happened to be born with a disease that makes it so my family and I have to be more cautious than the average family with regards to my health. This disease has made my life tough BUT it has also made me tough! I have learned to fight battles that you will never understand. I have learned to cope in circumstances that have tested my mental health. I have learned the preciousness of every breath. I have a superpower now. It’s called perspective. And let’s get this straight. There are a lot of us “sick” people out there and we have battle scars that have made us stronger than most people who are deemed “well.” 

I’m not worried about staying home during a lockdown. I’m more worried about going out. I’m worried about me and my family but I’m much more worried about other people going out there and getting sick and dying or spreading the disease to others whose bodies are not strong enough to fight it off. I’m worried about those who are ignorant and feel invincible and now have the keys to go out and infect others regardless of whether they wear gloves or masks. It just takes one mistake, folks. We don’t know enough about the coronavirus and I’m worried about a second wave. We don’t have enough tests and therefore there are probably many more cases of COVID-19 that have yet to be identified. 

So for all of you who have been labeled “sick” throughout your life, just know that it’s not you that’s sick. It’s those around you who label you as such. You are strong and can fight anything that comes your way. Your résumé is proof.  

My hope is that the people who are supposed to lead us and care about us will just prioritize our health over our money so that we don’t have to fight. My friend Martin said something to me the other day that I can’t get out of my head. He said “We live in a society not an economy.” What a brilliant quote!

Unfortunately yesterday in the state of Georgia, we were told to live in an economy. “Live” is probably not the right word. I’d say “Fight for our lives” is more appropriate. 

For those of you who are worried about people like me. Thank you. We are strong though. We are used to fighting battles. We don’t give up. We should be the least of your concerns. I’d be more concerned about the people who are going out and spreading germs because they think it’s okay to get together again. I’d be more worried about medical teams who are overwhelmed by the number of patients coming in because of COVID-19. I’d be more worried about a government that cares more about its financial well-being than losing many more of its people’s lives.

Stay strong, stay focused and please stay home…if you can. 

Live your dreams and love your life.

Andy

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When Does My World Go Back to Normal?

Many of you are experiencing your biggest fears right now and I am not just talking about the shortage of toilet paper. I’m talking about being stuck at home with your kids having to be virtually taught. I’m talking about not being able to experience little league sports or hang out in your favorite bar.

Believe it or not, I’m not panicking that much right now and I’m the one who is amongst the most at risk. I’ll start panicking when President Trump and my governor Brian Kemp (Georgia) start opening up this country so we can try and re-energize the economy despite this pandemic. That’s when a majority of people will go back to the office, grocery stores and sporting events. That’s when the custom of removing masks, hugging and shaking hands will return for many of you. 

Where does that leave me?

I can’t shake anyone’s hand or hug a person for the foreseeable future and it’s depressing.  I can’t go to sporting events, restaurants or grocery stores without at least wearing an N-95 mask and being stared at. I will be waiting for movies to come out on Netflix or Redbox because the risk of going to the theater is too great. I can’t go hang out with my friends without being concerned that one of them may unknowingly have COVID-19 and therefore I could be at risk. What’s worse is I have to ask my wife and children to have some of the same concerns though none of them has a lung disease. I know they support me but I feel guilty for making the three of them CF warriors despite them not having the disease. 

There’s a part of me who wants this lockdown to go on until there’s a vaccine for this virus and I have been given it similar to the flu but I’m not sure that’s logical. That vaccine won’t be available for probably six to nine months and our economy can’t survive if we wait that long. I also know that there are people who were living paycheck to paycheck before these lockdowns occurred and they are hurting financially even more so now.

So just remember one thing. When our president or our governors begin opening things up and you are rejoicing that your world is becoming normal again that there are still people like me who are living in a much more dangerous place. We will be stuck wondering if our world will ever return to normal.

But at least there will be more toilet paper available.

Live your dreams and love your life.

Best Wishes,

Andy

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Hitting 95 % – Honoring Dr. Wolfenden

Ninety-five percent FEV1! It was a number I hadn’t seen since high school yet somehow I blew it on Monday, April 6, at my virtual doctor’s appointment from the bathroom in my basement, and texted my doctor the results. I was absolutely ecstatic! I was grateful. 

And suddenly, I became nostalgic. It got me thinking about where my comeback had begun. It got me thinking about Lindy.

About a dozen years ago in 2008, I was sitting on an examination table at the Emory University hospital just after receiving news that although I had been on IVs for a few weeks, my lung function was still plummeting. I was down about 25 percent and my FEV1 was now in the sixties. I was used to having numbers in the low to mid-eighties. Another doctor once told me that as we get older, our lung naturally function declines. I hated hearing that, but even worse I started accepting it. 

It was then I was introduced to a new doctor because mine was out of the country. Her name was Dr. Lindy Wolfenden and she was a CF specialist. 

She saw tears falling from my cheeks. At the time, I had a two-year old daughter and a wife who was giving birth to our second child in about six months. Dr. Wolfenden had two young children, so I think she understood the pressure of being a parent.

I explained to her that this wasn’t supposed to be happening. Not now. I was dealing with both clinical depression and extreme anxiety, two things a therapist would later diagnose me with. I was having extreme allergies to a few of the IV meds that I was on. I’d had my PICC line pulled once only to have it re-inserted a few days later because my lung function was still declining. My kidney function had diminished quite a bit from the meds, too. I started wondering if I could ever get my pulmonary function numbers up again.

Dr. Wolfenden had a comforting smile but wasn’t afraid to tell me how it is. “Should I be scared? Should I freak out?” I asked her. Her answer, “Nah, I’ll tell you when to freak out.” She detected how scared I was though, and said something I would repeat to others throughout the years when they had difficult appointments. “These tests don’t tell everything. It’s how you feel that matters most.” Those words quickly comforted me. She never let me leave an appointment without good news.

I thought about what she said regarding the tests not telling everything. I thought about it all day and all night and then slowly began working out again. I couldn’t use my right arm because the PICC line was in it but I began to run. I started doing sit-ups and one-armed jumping jacks. I got back to playing tennis, though now doing it left-handed. In the next few weeks, my lung function increased back into the high seventies and therefore I could finally have the IV removed again.

It was that time in 2008 when I realized being a CF warrior didn’t mean I was simply born with CF. It was instead showing determination and heart when everything was working against me. In the next dozen years, I went from running a mile or two a week and working out three to four days a week, to now running 25 to 30 miles a week and working out every single day. My PFTs went from the low seventies to the mid-eighties over the last couple of years, and three months ago I hit 90 on my PFTs thanks to the assistance of Trikafta, a new CF breakthrough drug.

Now here I am, just minutes after seeing a 95 for the first time since I was a teenager and the one person I want to call is Dr. Wolfenden. The same year she began seeing me, the Emory School of Medicine established an adult cystic fibrosis program to complement its pediatric work. Dr. Wolfenden was its founding director. Her husband said, “She got into medicine for the people.”

Dr. Wolfenden and I forged more than a doctor-patient relationship. She would check on me and I would ask how she was doing, too. The latter became more important because in May 2009, Dr. Wolfenden was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Suddenly, she was the patient and I was the one trying to say the right words. She and I talked more frequently as she continued giving me good advice. One of the things she reiterated was, “Always have faith in your doctor.” 

Dr. Wolfenden fought cancer like the warrior she taught me to be, but eventually passed away in July 2010 at the young age of 40. Her husband and their two boys threw out the first pitch to our annual Wish for Wendy Softball Challenge that same year, and we established the Dr. Lindy Wolfenden Fundraising Table, an educational booth about cystic fibrosis. The event has raised more than $4.5 million to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

I wish now I’d had a chance to show her my current PFTs. I wish I’d been able to tell her during the rough times that tests don’t mean anything. It’s how you feel that matters.  

I’ll continue to thank Dr. Wolfenden by not letting a number on a sheet of paper define me and by giving it everything I have even when the odds are stacked against me—something she proved herself in the final months of her life. 

Dr. Wolfenden revealed the essence of being a warrior.

I’m proud to follow in her footsteps.

Live your dreams and love your life.

Andy

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My Favorite Smoothie Recipe

I began drinking workout shakes or smoothies while in college. I’ve tried many different ones and even frequent Smoothie King for a Gladiator or Banana Boat every now and then.

There is only one smoothie I like to make, but I make it differently depending how I’m doing. I use something called UMP (Ultimate Muscle Protein) powder, found on Amazon, and I prefer the chocolate flavor —it’s really good. The powder does not contain Creatine, which is why I like it. I took Creatine many years ago and added a lot of water weight. 

I combine the powder with milk if I need to gain weight, or with water or ice cubes if I’ve gained enough weight. I also add bananas and Wowbutter, which is sunflower seed butter but smells and tastes more like peanut butter. My daughter is allergic to peanuts or otherwise I would use peanut butter. You can also add pretty much any type of fruit if you want to see how you can change the taste. I drink it once in the morning after my workout, again at night before bed, and while I take my Trikafta as it provides the fat I need.

Here is the official recipe:



One scoop of UMP powder – chocolate One bananaA glass (8 oz.) of water or milkOne spoonful (tsp or Tbsp, to your taste) of Wowbutter (or peanut butter)

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Live your dreams and love your life.

Andy

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