The Life and Times of a CF Kid

  I was asked to write a brief life story for the local CF Community Newletter.  Everyone that has read says it’s good.  They could be lying, but I thought I’d post it here for everyone.  If you like it, great.  If not, that doesn’t bother me…

 The Life and Times of a CF Kid

  Yes, I was a CF kid.  In fact, on my blog, I still go by CfKid, even though
I’m 37 with two kids.  I’m the baby of the 15 member Buschle clan from Fort
Thomas.  I’m Mark, and I’m the baby. 

  The UC Patient Advisory Council asked me to tell my life story, but this is
the condensed version.  I’ve had a great life so far, and it’s far from over in
my opinion.  I was raised in a large family, with a great set of parents. 
Growing up I had 9 brothers and 4 sisters.  Yes, that’s right, 13 kids, and I’m
lucky 13.  I only know 11 of them though.  My second oldest brother died a few
days after birth from a bowel obstruction. This was the early 50’s.   We now
recognize that it was really CF which caused the bowel obstruction.

  I remember having a good childhood.  We went on family vacations, we played
hard, and we did our best to take care of the kids with Sixty-Five Roaches. 
Yes, that’s what my sister Judy called it.  We were two of a kind, we both had
CF.  I’m the only one still around, but more on that later.

  There are several CF-related moments in my life that stand out in my mind.  I
remember the first time I coughed up blood.  I was on vacation in Jekyll Island,
GA, and I was about 12.  It’s wasn’t much, but it scared me to death.  I think
that was the day that I knew I needed to be compliant.  But, it didn’t really
set in for a couple more years. 

  I remember the day my sister Judy, who had CF, died.  I remember that day, and
will never forget it.  This year, 2008, is the twentieth anniversary of her
death.  My mother and grandmother have always told us that we Buschle’s are not
stubborn, we’re determined.  Well, Judy was determined not to die while her
favorite nurses were on shift.  She waited them out and died about 20 minutes
after they left.  (By the way, I have to note that Dr. Kellogg used to let Judy
have beer in Children’s inpatient unit.  That will make most anyone smile.  Ask
me about that story some day).

  The next moment was when I met my wife Kristen.  I was always reminded,
usually by myself that the average age for a CF’er born in 1971 was 16.  I had
beaten the odds and made it to the point of finding a soul mate.  We’ve been
married for over 12 years, and have two kids.

  The birth of my two kids is another pair of CF moments that shouldn’t have
happened. CF patients aren’t supposed to have kids.  Modern technology has
helped that, and I now have Michael (6) and Katie (3), who are a wonderful part
of my life.  And, as tough as it is, I would recommend having a family to any CF
patient.  Kids really do keep you young.

  More recently there have been endurance related accomplishments.  In 2002, I
earned my Black Belt in Aikido.  What a rush and a great confidence builder that
was!  In 2006, I started running and ran my first half marathon for the CFF.  I
did two half marathons in 2007, one for CF, the other for me.  This year, I ran
the full marathon in the Flying Pig.  I ran it with a very dear friend, stride
for stride.  We had a blast, and plan to top it next year. 

  I’ve outlived the average life span by over 21 years.  I’ve learned a lot in
these years.  I’ve learned that the chronically ill can do anything, and most
do.  We are a very strong bunch, especially in the CF world.  I’ve learned that
having a bunch of people you love makes your life better.  It’s not the
quantity, it’s the quality. 

  To the patients that are reading this, take care of yourselves.  Do your meds,
cough, exercise if you can, and push yourself.  You won’t stay healthy just
sitting around.  To the parents of CF Patients, do not over protect your kids. 
Let them experience life and let them learn.  Trust me, my parents tried to
overprotect Judy, and it didn’t work.  They learned with me, and trust me, I’ve
made my mistakes.

  Finally, take care of the ones you love. You never know how long you have, but
you know that you have today and it should be special.  Yes, I know, it sounds
like malarkey, but it’s not.  I really do believe it.  And, you should too!

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Another July 4th PR

  I haven’t posted in a while, so I thought I should post some sort of update.  I ran the local Firecracker 5000, which I run every year.  The weather was perfect, low 60’s and rain.  I loved it, and my time showed that.  I ran a 27:07 (Yeah, I know, that’s slow), which is 23 seconds faster than my previous 5k PR.  I’m happy with that for a couple of reasons.  First, I had missed an entire week of training the week before.  I was on vacation in Myrtle Beach and had no time to run.  Also, I was able to keep my pace fairly steady and ran a negative split.  I ran a 9:11, 8:54, and 8:28, with a final .1 in 33.65.  I’ll take that. 

  On the marathon front, I’ve reserved two rooms in Boston for the 2009 Marathon.  We are going to stay at the Seaport, which is owned by Fidelity.  I work at Fidelity, so I know it well, and can get the Fidelity rate.  The problem is that the Fidelity rate is $300/night.  Oh well, that’s just how things work.  Maybe I can get them to donate that amount to the CFF.  I’ll have to look into that.  I should know more about getting into Boston via the CFF next week.  I am going to see my Pulmonologist on Wednesday, hopefully she’ll have some news for me. 

  On the weight front, I gained 6+ lbs on vacation.  Not bad, but I could have eaten much better.  I’ve already lost over 2 of those pounds in a week.  I should be able to drop another 2 this week.  My friend Victoria has started on the Atkins diet again.  First, I couldn’t do it.  Second, I wouldn’t do it.  Once you start eating carbs again, you just gain the weight back.  I’m sure someone will find this and tell my I’m wrong.  Go ahead and do it, but I know two people who have had that happen.  And, btw, it’s not about dieting, it’s about changing eating habits for a lifetime.  And, that’s what I’m doing.  It’s amazing how much food I was eating before.  Portion control is huge, in my humble opinion. 

  Ok, that’s it for today. I have to go get my daughter up for daycare, so I can get go to work.

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