SPOTLIGHT: The Cocooning Chronicles
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s some members of the CF Community move into their fourteenth week of cocooning, PWCF Greg Foley recounts his experience so far. As a lecturer working online, he is embracing new technology and enjoying a break from the traffic. In this spotlight, Greg writes about the importance of treating and recognising mental health as well as physical. As the country begins to reopen and restrictions are lifted, people with cystic fibrosis and those who are medically vulnerable are advised to stay home as much as possible and urged to use judgement on how best to apply the public health guidance. While this remains a challenging time, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland would like to remind members that we are here to support you. CFI issue regular updates to members on our website, www.cfireland.ie Details of supports available to members can be found on page 13
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âve been in lock-down for over two months now and while there is a feeling of Groundhog Day about my current existence, Iâm doing fine. It helps that Iâm an introvert at heart and while I enjoy being with people Iâm also happy enough to spend long periods on my own. It does help, of course, that we can all stay in contact with our friends and loved ones through WhatsApp and social media. Being locked-down in the 1970s would have been a much different proposition. I'll be 57 in June having somehow survived pretty much everything CF can throw at a person, including multiple infections, collapsed lungs, blocked bowels, years on home oxygen, and ultimately a double lung transplant (in 2002) and a kidney transplant (in 2011). Except for about nine months in 2003, I have worked without any major interruption since I was 23. Iâve been incredibly lucky and canât claim any credit for my survival. Iâve been a lecturer in DCU since 1986 and while the job has provided me with a lot of flexibility, it has been demanding. In a curious way, work, not CF, has dominated my life and if anything defines me, itâs my work. It has consumed me. Anyway, by the middle of 2019, I was feeling very tired, both emotionally and physically. I think I was suffering from burnout and this was not helped by the fact that my transplanted kidney is not working very well. I had developed a sort of depression/anxiety for which I decided to take medication, medication that seemed to put me back on an even keel. I think we all need to be prepared to admit that we are suffering mentally and not try to battle through. We take bucketloads of medication for our malfunctioning bodies, so why not for our malfunctioning âsoulsâ.
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Spectrum / Summer 2020
