Why I Am Not a CF Sufferer

I hate the terms/phrases “CF sufferer” or “I/they suffer from CF.” If there’s something you want to do that is sure to send me over the edge, refer to me as a “sufferer.” Do I lead an easy life? Heck no; I struggle for breath and limit some of my activities based on what I can do on a given day. Still, I wouldn’t expect the local paper to do a story on me opting out of the 5K race due to my infection with the headline: Local CF Sufferer Misses Out Again. That would be ludicrous.

Of course we suffer from time to time. More often than not in some peoples’ cases, but that’s not a reason to label your life as one of suffering.

“Suffering is a state of mind, not a state of body.” – Jesse Petersen

When I see someone with spina bifida or cerebral palsy who is bound to their wheelchair and often in pain, yet they live their life with a smile on their face and bringing delight to those around them, who are we to say that they are suffering unless they tell us, “Hey, I  am suffering down here. Don’t you dare have fun around me!”

I don’t associate with those who are suffering. They aren’t any fun and don’t add value to my life. It’s like some people are hypertonic by adding their life to everyone else and others are hypotonic, taking the life out of everyone around them. Disease or disability or not, people don’t want to be with hypotonic people because they will suck the joy out of anything and anyone. You know those people. Those people are the sufferers.

So, the next time you hear that phrase or are about to use that phrase, just think to yourself “does this person really act like they are suffering?”