:: MTV's True Life - I Have Cystic Fibrosis

My precious cyster Katie put it best when she said, "If 'I Have a Psycho Pet' is an option for MTV's True Life, then I'm damn sure 'I Have Cystic Fibrosis' can be one". I couldn't agree more. Below is my submission to True Life's casting director in an attempt to launch the largest CF awareness project I've ever been a part of.

MTV's True Life - I Have Cystic Fibrosis

My name is Farrel, I'm 28 years old and I live in Texas. I spend my free time indulging in live music, photography, traveling and spending time with the people who make me happiest. I work part-time as a chiropractic assistant at a hospital and am slowly but surely working toward a degree in PR. But what you would never know by simply meeting me is that I was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic terminal illness that affects the respiratory and digestive systems of approximately 30,000 people in the United States and 75,000 people worldwide. A faulty gene produces mucus the consistency of chewing gum that clogs the lungs and obstructs other vital organs resulting in dangerous lung infections, lack of oxygen and malnutrition. To date, the average life expectancy of a CF patient is only 37 years old; There is no cure.

I could go on and on about the scientific aspects of having CF, but I realize that's not what the public is interested in. So I'll instead approach it this way...I was once asked, "If you could tell the world one thing about Cystic Fibrosis, what would it be?" And it is this. That CF hurts. It hurts physically when it feels like sandpaper is scraping your lungs with every breath. It hurts mentally to plan for and get excited about a life you may never lead. It hurts to fall in love because CF can be an extraordinary burden on anyone who is not meant to deal with it, most times resulting in rejection and loneliness. It hurts to watch dozens of friends lose this fight that they never deserved or asked for. But most of all, it would hurt to not have been blessed with the opportunity to experience life through a CFer's eyes - No love is half-given, no day is not lived to its fullest and NOTHING is taken for granted.

I consider Cystic Fibrosis to be a blessing in my life, which may seem like a strange, albeit crazy, outlook on something so devastating. But in my short 28 years, I have viewed life with a passion that most do not realize until they are lying on their death bed, wishing they'd done more with their time on Earth. I have met some of the strongest, most inspirational, most incredibly amazing people I have ever had the privilege of knowing due to growing up with this disease. The connection and sense of family among CFers, often referred to amongst ourselves as "cysters" (females) and "fibros" (males), can not be rivaled and can not be explained in words. Our lives' "normalcy" revolves around things that most only imagine in horror - Constant pain, illness, exhaustion, multiple drug treatments with miserable side effects, frequent loss of friends, recurrent hospital stays for weeks at a time, organ transplantation - And yet we never give up. We never stop fighting. And most importantly, we never stop smiling.

I respectfully ask that you seriously consider "I Have Cystic Fibrosis" as a valid episode topic for your show. I think you would be pleasantly surprised at what a draw an episode of this emotional magnitude would have and how many lives would be touched by meeting those of us who have been truly fighting for our lives since the day we were born.

Thank you for your time,
Jessica Farrel Amis
Dallas, TX

Thank you, miss Katie Fisher, for including me in the participation of this brilliant idea of yours. Let's DO this! ♥