I Wasn’t Weak. I Was Undiagnosed

I wasn’t alleged to make it this far.

I used to be born six weeks early, to oldsters who weren’t prepared. They fought continually, partied exhausting, and finally cut up up. My sister went with my dad, and I stayed with my mother — even after my dad evicted us. From that time on, it was chaos. I used to be the child working at 14 and drifting by means of life with out a lot steerage.

I didn’t discover stability till I discovered the pool.

It began as a lifeguard job. But one thing in regards to the water clicked with me. I began swimming — slowly at first, however then all in. I had construction. I had objectives. I pulled my grades up, fought for a fifth yr of highschool simply to remain on monitor, and located a manner ahead. I even met my future spouse due to the game. She was somebody who noticed me for greater than the tough edges. She believed in me earlier than I believed in myself.

I chased swimming exhausting. Went to school. Trained like hell. I grew to become a dash freestyler — my most important focus was the 50- and 100-yard races. I skilled to achieve a 20.34-second 50-yard freestyle and a forty five.05-second 100-yard freestyle. I competed at NCAAs and U.S. Winter Nationals. After school, I continued to coach, and in 2016, I missed the U.S. Olympic trial lower by solely 0.35 seconds. I achieved all of this although I didn’t even begin swimming till junior yr of highschool.

But all that point, one thing wasn’t proper.

I used to be at all times skinny. Always coughing. I cleared my throat continually after races, throughout exercises, even whereas I used to be teaching. I didn’t acquire muscle or weight like the opposite sprinters. My restoration was at all times a bit of behind. But I brushed it off. I figured that was simply my physique.

Then COVID-19 occurred and every little thing acquired worse.

After getting COVID, my well being began spiraling. I couldn’t practice constantly. I stored getting sick, fatigued, and infected. My sinuses have been a large number. I began having nervousness, or what I believed was nervousness — chest tightness, insomnia, and lightheadedness. I went from figuring out every day to barely doing something. For over two years, I lived like that. Burned out, confused, and pissed off. Doctors instructed me it was stress and nervousness driving my illness. They prescribed meds that didn’t assist. I attempted every little thing.

And it didn’t simply have an effect on my private life. It practically destroyed my profession.

At the time, I used to be the top swim coach at a Division II faculty. I constructed a powerhouse program and had probably the most profitable tenures in class historical past. But my physique was falling aside. I couldn’t sustain. I used to be exhausted on a regular basis, getting sick continually, and nonetheless had no actual clarification for any of it. I stored pushing, however my well being stored declining. I used to be caught.

Eventually, I acquired let go. The termination felt like a punch within the intestine; not simply because I liked that job, however as a result of deep down, I knew I wasn’t simply “struggling” or “burnt out.” Something was really fallacious. But I didn’t have proof but.

Until I figured it out myself.

After touchdown my dream job teaching at a Division I faculty, I seen one thing bizarre — my fingers would wrinkle immediately in water. Not simply prune up a bit of, however full-on aquagenic wrinkling inside seconds. I’d by no means actually thought of it earlier than, nevertheless it caught with me. This isn’t regular. I began digging. Researching. Reading medical papers. And each path led to the identical place: cystic fibrosis. I went to my physician and mentioned, “I want a sweat test. I think I have CF.” They checked out me like I used to be reaching, however I wasn’t fallacious.

A couple of exams later, the prognosis was official — I had cystic fibrosis. At 33 years outdated.

I felt a wave of feelings… aid, grief, anger, readability. All these signs weren’t simply in my head. It wasn’t burnout. It wasn’t nervousness. It was a illness. It had a reputation. And I lastly uncovered it. I began Trikafta instantly, and every little thing modified.

Within days, I used to be purging mucus I didn’t even know was in me. Within weeks, I used to be respiration by means of my nostril (which I’d by no means naturally carried out earlier than). My sinuses cleared. My lungs opened up. I may transfer once more. My sleep improved. For the primary time in my life, I felt like my physique was working with me as a substitute of in opposition to me.

It’s made me replicate on every little thing I completed earlier than this prognosis, each as an athlete and a coach, and simply how a lot I’d been carrying with out realizing it. I wasn’t simply overcoming a troublesome background. I used to be unknowingly coaching with a power genetic illness all the time.

 

Since my prognosis, I’ve change into deeply dedicated to creating certain nobody else walks blindly by means of the identical fog I did. I now serve on the advisory board for my native CF clinic, and I’m volunteering with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to share my story … not for sympathy, however for consciousness, motion, and advocacy.

I’m additionally proud to be receiving care by means of West Virginia University Medicine, the place I’ve lastly discovered a care staff that listens, helps, and collaborates with me. It’s made a world of distinction having consultants who deal with me like a accomplice in my very own well being.

This journey isn’t about what I’ve misplaced. It’s about what I’m constructing now — a path ahead for others like me who have been instructed it was “just in their head.” Because it wasn’t. And we’re not alone anymore.

Interested in sharing your story? The CF Community Blog needs to listen to from you.