A Child Without Limitations

From the time that Andy was born, Eva and I were concerned, worried, but developed and maintained an optimistic view of Andy’s future. We knew then as we know now that there WILL be a cure for cystic fibrosis during Andy’s lifetime and that we would live to see him as a healthy person free of the yoke of the disease.

So, with that optimism, we treated Andy as a child without limitations but always recognizing that we had to make sure that we exposed him to much of life while making certain that we do not unduly expose him to viruses and bacteria which could make him very sick in the short term and potentially shorten his life expectancy.

We refused to allow Andy to see himself as different or sick. Doing so we worked hard to expose him to the fun things of childhood and life. We made sure that he played sports and that he developed athletic skills and a winning attitude for sports.  Fortunately, the athletic limitations that I have were not passed on to Andy as he excelled in all of the sports that he played.  Thought we did not know it at the time, we believe that the exercise and exertion involved helped minimize the disease in his formative years.

Of course, Andy from time to time attempted to use CF as a reason not to participate in various activities. Neither Eva or I would allow it. If he tried to escape, we asked even more from him rather than succumbing to his adolescent urge to be lazy. I am sure he resents us to this day, but take great pride in assisting his using self-help to become the man he is today.

Although we supported, CF organizations, we kept him far from them so that he would not think of himself as a victim or one needing help, but rather to envision himself as a boy and young man with potential and the opportunity to live a full and productive life.

Charles Lipman -AKA “Andy’s Dad