Cystic Fibrosis - deluding myself with statistics
Our son Finn had cystic fibrosis (cf). He was meant to live until he was 47. More precisely that’s the median life expectancy in the UK according to the cystic fibrosis trust. What that actually means is that half of people who have cf will live beyond their 47 th birthday, how far beyond is anyone’s guess. That’s how it’s always written, no-one likes to point out that half of all people in the UK with cystic fibrosis will not make it to their 47 th birthday. Obviously our Finn was meant to be in the good half, so it was a comforting statistic to know. I would generally consider myself a lucky person, things fall on the right side for me, always have. I landed in a good family, had an idyllic upbringing in a nice house with dogs that didn’t need a lead. My exam results were always on the right side of average, I went to uni, fell in love with the first guy I met, got my PhD, landed my dream job, married Paul and life was perfect. My first uncomplicated pregnancy and beautiful...