Breathing Deeply: My Life With Cystic Fibrosis

An ancient CFer meeteth three young adults bidden to a care center, and detaineth one.

It is an ancient CFer,
And he stoppeth one of three.
`By thy thin frame and oxygen hose,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me ?

The clinic's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin ;
The patients met, the stage is set :
May'st hear the merry din.'

He holds him with his skinny hand,
`There was a neb,' quoth he.
`Hold off ! unhand me, cepacia'd loon !'
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

The young adult is spell-bound by the eye of the old CFer man, and constrained to hear his tale.

He holds him with his glittering eye--
The young adult stood still,
And listens like a three years' child :
The CFer hath his will.

The young adult sat on a stool :
He cannot choose but hear ;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed CFer.

`The meds was cheered, the airways cleared,
Merrily did we cough
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.

The CFer tells how life progressed with a good wind and fair weather, till it reached the new baseline.

The peak flow came up upon the left,
Out of the tidal breathing came he !
And it shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the FEV.

Higher and higher every appointment,
Till one day, too low to believe--'
The young adult here beat his breast,
For an "oyster" he had to heave.

The young adult heareth the receptionist ; but the Mariner continueth his tale.

The CF team hath paced into the hall,
and masked and gloved are we ;
Nodding her heads before them goes
The nurse and lone R.T.

The young adult he beat his breast,
Yet he cannot choose but hear ;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed CFer.

The meds flowed by gravity from an IV pole.
`And now the Psuedomona came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong :
He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
And made me cough so long.

With sloping posture and dipping brow,
As who pursued with yell and blow
Still treads the shadow of his foe,
And forward bends his head,

The docs drove fast, loud roared the blast,
To the hospital aye we fled.
And now there came both mist and vest,
And it grew wondrous cold :
And sputum cups, mast-high, sent out for tests,
As green as emerald.