00:00 My sister and I were both born with cystic fibrosis,
00:03 which causes excess buildup of mucus in our lungs.
00:06 We've both had times where we could barely breathe.
00:08 Doctors advised us to stay six feet apart
00:11 from each other at all times.
00:12 - We're told right from the beginning
00:14 that anybody with CF should not be anywhere near each other.
00:18 - I'm scared that we can pick up lung infections.
00:20 Those lung infections can be fatal.
00:22 - So this is my nebulizer and I do this twice daily.
00:28 And what it does is it helps break up the mucus in my lungs.
00:32 It takes about 30 to 45 minutes to do the whole treatment.
00:36 Cystic fibrosis is a life-threatening condition
00:40 that damages your lungs and your digestive system.
00:44 When my cystic fibrosis flares up and it's at its worst,
00:48 I would say it's hard to just breathe.
00:51 I'll wake up and before I even put my feet on the floor,
00:54 I feel tired because it feels like my body's attacking me.
00:58 So this is my vest.
01:00 I do this two times a day for about 15 minutes.
01:02 And what it does is it shakes your whole body
01:05 and especially like your lung area
01:07 that breaks up extra mucus and helps me expel it.
01:11 It can be frustrating having to do all this
01:15 before my day even starts,
01:17 but I've been doing this since I was nine years old.
01:19 So now I'm pretty used to it.
01:21 For the first nine years of my life,
01:23 doctors thought I had really bad asthma
01:25 and they thought I was lactose intolerant.
01:28 I know that it really affected my parents
01:30 because they were constantly taking me back and forth
01:33 to different doctors,
01:34 just trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
01:37 Hi.
01:37 - How you doing?
01:41 - Good, how are you?
01:42 - I'm good.
01:42 - When my sister was born,
01:45 she had the mandatory newborn testing
01:48 and it came back that she had cystic fibrosis.
01:50 They instantly knew that was exactly what I had.
01:53 How worried were you when the doctors told you
01:55 how serious cystic fibrosis was?
01:57 - Scared out of my mind for sure.
01:59 Your life expectancy at the time when you were diagnosed,
02:03 you said like 15 to 18.
02:05 It was like, what is this?
02:07 What are we gonna do now?
02:09 - Since I had gone nine years of my life untreated,
02:11 the doctors told my parents
02:13 that I probably wouldn't make it to 18.
02:15 I remember seeing him very upset.
02:18 As the years have gone on,
02:20 he's always told me that I broke his heart.
02:25 Sorry, I don't get it in motion.
02:27 - Once we started getting the treatments,
02:31 you responded pretty well to it.
02:32 So then they said that you would be
02:34 maybe into your young 20s.
02:36 - This past May, I turned 25
02:38 and I'm actually doing very well right now.
02:42 And I'm also on life-changing medicine
02:44 that should extend my life expectancy.
02:47 - It was crazy.
02:48 She was little and God said she went right into the hospital.
02:50 We didn't know if she was gonna come home.
02:52 - Over the years, my sister and I
02:53 have been frequent in the hospital.
02:56 We've both had times where we could barely breathe.
02:58 When she was younger,
02:59 she had some times where she was in there
03:01 for three, four weeks.
03:02 Between us, we've spent months in hospitals.
03:05 - We're told right from the beginning
03:06 that anybody with CF should not be anywhere near each other.
03:10 And they said that, you know, six foot apart
03:13 was like the absolute closest you could go.
03:16 - The risks of being around my sister,
03:18 it could be easier for us to pass lung infections
03:22 back and forth.
03:23 We could get each other sick.
03:24 - Every time they said that, or like you guys,
03:27 you and mom said, "Oh, you guys shouldn't be that close.
03:31 You shouldn't drink out of this.
03:32 You shouldn't be all touchy-touchy."
03:34 I'm like, it's kind of difficult
03:35 because I'm like best friends with my sister.
03:38 - If I'm near you all the time,
03:40 like I'm scared that we can pick up lung infections.
03:42 It sucks because those lung infections can be fatal.
03:46 - We try to avoid each other when we're sick,
03:49 but it's really hard because my sister is my best friend
03:52 and I want to be around her.
03:56 When I don't feel good and I like go a few weeks
03:58 without seeing you, I hate it.
03:59 Obviously I want to be around you,
04:01 but I would hate to know that I got you sick or hurt you.
04:06 - But now you're both doing great.
04:08 So that's awesome.
04:09 You and you guys are both healthy.
04:11 Then we can hang out.
04:12 - I've posted on TikTok over the years
04:15 about my cystic fibrosis, but it was very sporadic.
04:18 Recently, I posted a video talking about
04:20 how social media is a highlight reel
04:22 and you never actually know what somebody's going through.
04:25 You never know what people have to go through
04:27 on a daily basis.
04:28 It hit almost a million views.
04:30 I then started posting more about cystic fibrosis
04:33 and building a larger community on social media.
04:37 Do you want to make a TikTok?
04:39 - We're in our vests.
04:40 - Yeah.
04:40 Me and my sister have cystic fibrosis
04:44 and we have to do this two times a day for 15 minutes.
04:47 It has a big battery pack in the back.
04:49 It looks like you're a ninja turtle
04:51 and it helps you breathe better.
04:54 So, keeps us alive.
04:56 When we post TikToks, there's a lot of negative
05:00 and positive comments that we get,
05:03 but many of them are negative.
05:05 This girl said that we should clear our throat.
05:08 I sound like a smoker.
05:10 This one asked why I am constantly catching my breath
05:13 in my videos.
05:15 When I see people trolling my sister like that,
05:17 it hurts because I know how she wants
05:20 to make other people happy
05:22 and other people that have the disease seen.
05:25 She wants to make sure they're noticed.
05:28 She doesn't deserve that.
05:29 There's also many people that contact her
05:32 and say thank you for spreading awareness
05:35 because it really helps other people.
05:37 And I've had a lot of moms reach out to me
05:41 that they just found out their newborn has CF.
05:45 The more awareness that is spread,
05:46 the more money that can be raised
05:48 to help find a cure for cystic fibrosis
05:51 and improve not only my quality of life,
05:54 but my sister's and everybody else that has cystic fibrosis.
05:57 Hi, babe.
06:01 Hi, my love.
06:02 Dating with cystic fibrosis can be a bit difficult.
06:08 When I started dating my current boyfriend, Aaron,
06:11 we were three months into our relationship
06:13 and I had to be hospitalized.
06:15 It really scared me because I didn't know where,
06:19 how to react from it and what to do from that.
06:23 It made like this CF thing can like come out of nowhere
06:26 to affect you guys.
06:28 I feel like you handled it well, though.
06:30 I have always been protective over my sister,
06:33 but when they started dating,
06:34 she used to text me every single day
06:36 and was like, "Oh my God, like this guy is such a sweetheart.
06:40 "She can do her treatments in front of him
06:42 "and not feel uncomfortable."
06:44 I was like, "He's definitely the one for her."
06:46 I approve.
06:47 My hopes for my sister and I's future
06:51 would be to be successful, happy, and healthy.
06:56 I think that we are capable of being able to live
07:00 a long and healthy life,
07:01 as long as we take all of our medications
07:03 and keep up with our health.
07:06 Feel like Georgia and Alexis,
07:08 they deal with their condition pretty well.
07:10 I don't know how other people take it,
07:12 but they seem like they kill it pretty much
07:15 on a daily basis.
07:16 They're both really good fighters.
07:19 They're tough.
07:20 They're both really, really pretty amazing kids.
07:24 I couldn't imagine what life would be like
07:26 if I actually did stay six feet apart
07:28 from my sister at all times.
07:30 We love to do everything together.
07:32 Sharing a condition has brought us very close.
07:35 Really, if anything's going on in our life,
07:37 even besides cystic fibrosis,
07:39 it's easier to understand where we're coming from
07:41 because we do have that in common,
07:43 and it's a big life-changing thing to have in common.
07:46 It's nice having a best and best friend.
07:49 Love you.
07:52 I love you.
07:53 (upbeat music)
07:57 (silence)
07:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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