Have you ever wondered how to balance a social life while living with cystic fibrosis?
You are not alone.
Hosted by Bradley Dryburgh, himself a young person living with cystic fibrosis (CF), this latest series of the CFStrong podcast delves deep into the perspectives of six young adults facing similar challenges.
In this opening episode, Adam, Blake, Caitlin, Ellie, Sam, and Tayla share candid accounts of how they navigate a social life while managing their CF. From Adam's seamless integration of CF into friendships to Tayla's candid admission of hermit tendencies, each story offers a unique perspective into the delicate balance between health and social life.
Tune in to the Podcast to hear first-person stories, gain insights and discover coping strategies.





























Transcript
Voiceover: Welcome to the CFStrong Podcast. CFStrong covers the successes and challenges faced by those living with cystic fibrosis. You'll hear first-person stories, conversations with health professionals, friends and partners. Just a heads up, guests may share their personal views about treatments and health management, but please remember, this is not medical advice and you should always follow the advice of your clinic team regarding your health. 
Brad: G'day everyone and welcome to this incredibly exciting new season of the CF Strong Podcast. I'm your host and fellow CF patient Bradley Dryburgh. And as a 20-something-year-old living with cystic fibrosis, I know that this decade of our life is not only challenging, but rather it comes with some big questions we ask of ourselves. I've taken the time to sit down with six guests who like me, are all in their twenties living with cystic fibrosis as they share their honest and unique perspectives on 10 big questions across 10 separate episodes. I'll ask one question of all six of our guests in this particular order. You can expect to hear answers from Adam, Blake, Caitlin, Ellie, Sam, and Tayla. In the first episode of our series, we'll hear from each of our six guests as they answer how they juggle friends and a social life alongside cystic fibrosis. 
Adam: Yeah, well, for me it hasn't been overly difficult 'cause maybe I'm a little bit lucky where I've always had a few really close best friends. Um, you know, my best friends from when I was 12 are still my best friends now. So I'm lucky in the sense that they know me really well. Um, they know my cystic fibrosis. , I don't really have to go through the phase of meeting. I mean, I do, but I don't have to go through a huge phase of meeting new people and feeling anxious about that. 'cause I feel quite comfortable meeting people and making friends with people, CF or not. The thing I noticed, um, about meeting new friends with CF though, is that there is that hurdle, um, initially when they realize that you were, are sick and that you have a cough, or that, you know, I'm underweight or I take creon before I eat, or I take insulin before or after I eat, and I'm always checking my blood sugars. These are things that people aren't typically used to. So there is a, there is usually a conversational hurdle to jump over, um, to get to that next level of friendship. And I'm always aware that sometimes it could be, for me, it's quite, it could be quite, uh, what's the word? I think it's just, I can get quite anxious about it. Um, but in the most part, people have been really understanding, um, and very respectful and very compassionate whenever they hear about my cystic fibrosis. So if anything, it's just given me a lot of social com, uh, social comfortability, um, around making friends. So CF and friendships, it's, it's not a big thing. Uh, it's, it's just normal for me. It's like, it's fine, you know? 
Blake: Yeah. Well, um, I mean, I, I guess I've been, I think that what's probably gonna be a common thread through most of my answers is that I've been very lucky compared to I thin...