Club CF 60+

People with CF who are LIVING, BREATHING and SUCCEEDING at 60+ most likely are retired and possibly enjoying grandchildren. It’s all about hobbies and a stroll in the park with loved ones.

THEY are a true inspiration to the CF community!

November 2010

Dona Korpics

“I guess everyone has a motto to live by, and our family has found one which has kept us going for a while: Failure Is Not An Option.”

My name is Dona Korpics, and I am getting ready to celebrate my 65th birthday.

In November 2009, I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Yes, 64 and now I am battling cystic fibrosis.

It was a real slap in the face when I first heard it. My first thought was “they are wrong”—people my age don’t get CF. Slow but sure, they started to put things together and then came the “sweat test.”  Okay, now I have CF.
 
Thanksgiving wasn’t “Thanksgiving.” On top of this diagnosis, my husband of 46 years, Vince, was battling kidney failure, doing the dialysis three times a week, and we were struggling.  Christmas came and went, and we were both too sick to even go to out to enjoy the holiday. Our life was made up of dialysis, doctor appointments, and rush trips to the hospital for both of us.  Prescriptions, doctors, all new things for me trying to go day to day. We were lucky to be able to obtain local transport on our “Pocono Pony,” the bus for all of us who needed to get out but couldn’t do the driving.

After discussing it among themselves, our daughter, Jackie and her husband, David,  our daughter, Kay, and her lifetime companion, Amy, and our daughter, Vicky, and her husband, Brian, decided that come spring, we were moving in with Jackie and David,  no questions. Vince and I fought it tooth and nail, but living in the Pocono Mountains where snow piles up, we had no choice.

We thought we had things under control for now, but on a sunny day with a little snow falling in March, Vince collapsed and died in my arms before the ambulance and paramedics arrived. I held him close, but I knew he was gone. That is where “MY STORY” really begins.

Okay, now I am fighting a life-threatening disease, I am a widow, moving to a new place, new doctors, new hospitals and something called CF. I met with the CF team in Hershey, Penn. It is one-and-a-half hours from my daughter in Allentown,  so it is tough when I go and have to stay. So when I took a turn for the worst this past September, I needed to be admitted to the facilities at the Lehigh Valley Hospital Center in Allentown, Penn.  It may be tough dealing with someone my age, but they are getting used to it.

I was never very sick in my life. I married, had four children—three girls and one boy. Then in the last two years, my health took a turn for the worse.  On one emergency trip to the hospital, I was amazed when a new doctor I saw in the ER spotted something because she had spent some time in a CF clinic in Philadelphia, and so the CF diagnosis. It has become a real family thing, with everyone keeping up to date with the new advances that come by and following up with new things they read and find online.
I have started a whole realm of new things to keep me occupied. I am on oxygen 24-7, and walking isn’t the greatest, so I do a lot of computer work. I have been updating our family tree and have actually started on a series of books I started years ago. Now I can add another one, about being 64 and having CF. There are new drugs to try and diet changes that have to be made.  I do get out and about on my electric scooter and my portable oxygen. I just completed a new drug therapy, a new inhaled antibiotic which I had hoped will increase my pulmonary function and increase my air flow.  So far it has not totally kicked in, so I guess I will have to try another plan.

I am looking forward to the upcoming years when they will come up with a cure for this dreaded CF.  I guess everyone has a motto to live by, and our family has found one which has kept us going for a while: “Failure Is Not An Option.”  It comes from the NASA space mission # 13,  when the spacecraft was in peril, but they all made it through.  I think that is what my life is right now, a mission which has taken a slight turn, and I need to get it back on track.

So this is my story, my life and a mission. I want everyone out there who are family members, caretakers, researchers and the professionals who see us on our good days and our worst days to know how much we as patients appreciate what you do for us everyday. And to those of you who help with the fundraising and work on letting the world know how hard this disease is, if you work hard, we will keep working hard too.

April 2009

Laura Tillman

“The Essence of Compassion: Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong ... because sometime in your life you will have been all of these.”

I grew up in Michigan and was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 1995, at the age of 47 and after years of suffering from chronic sinus infections, a chronic cough, pseudomonas infections, and a sundry of other symptoms.  I am currently 61 years old and have been married to my husband Lew for 33+ years.  I took early retirement in 2000 from my position as a certified school psychologist, due to constant infections acquired from working with infants and toddlers.  Since then, I have been involved in volunteer activities for various CF organizations, both state and national.  I currently serve on the board of directors of a state organization, as well as USACFA.

Initially, after diagnosis, I was completely compliant with all the recommended treatments while still working full-time.  However, finding the time to get adequate sleep and exercise was next to impossible. After five years of declining health, I decided to take early retirement, which was the best decision I could have made as far as my health was concerned. 

I have found that maintaining a positive attitude and a sense of humor can be very beneficial to my health. One of my favorite little sayings is “she who laughs, lasts …”  I feel that volunteerism, attitude and humor—as well as the support of my husband—are as important as the medicines and treatments I will continue to receive throughout the remainder of my life.  My husband and doctor might take exception to this and add that my stubbornness and feistiness also keep me going.

Although I’m pretty insistent in determining the terms of my care, I will do whatever I consider reasonable in order to achieve my goal of living a very long and fulfilling life. I know CF is a monster that can turn quickly and rear its ugly head.  That’s why it’s good to be prepared with knowledge, a great doctor, and flexibility in one’s attitude.  The key to maintaining one’s health status is to be as knowledgeable about your own body as well as to be a very informed medical consumer.

Proudest Moment: Asked to be a god parent
Favorite Food: Middle Eastern
Favorite Color: Mauve
Favorite Movie: Gone With The Wind
Favorite Hobbies: Baking, pilates, animals, reading
Awards: Years of Dedication Award from CFF, 6th Grade Spelling Bee
Dream Vacation: Bostwana and Victoria Falls, Africa
Favorite Music: 60’s
Passions: Travel, theatre, opera, dance
You can find Laura on ... Cysticfibrosis.com, Cystic L