KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Double Lung Transplant Survivor Tiffany Senter

Episode Date: July 15, 2024

Hey, good afternoon. It's Randy Bird, and I am here with you with Tuesday Titans Live. And today I have an absolute special guest. Somebody very close to me in my heart. And you're going to hear a little bit about her story right now. But her name is Tiffany Center. She's on the line with me. But before I get to that, I'd love to just edify this young lady a little bit. Tiffany is 26 years old, lives in Reading, California. And primarily lives in Redding, California. but she travels a lot, unfortunately, for her medical needs as she has cystic fibrosis, which is a terminal lung disease. She's been dealing with that and the side effects of that, really her entire life. And that's where I really got to meet Tiffany personally. But because of cystic fibrosis, which is basically a chronic lung infection, it scarred her lungs permanently. And she had to have a double lung transplant at the age of 18. Think about that for a minute. The age of 18, this young lady, had a double lung transplant. In her words, she was gifted with nearly five more years,

thanks to that donor, that she owes her life to. Gives me God bumps, but we're going to get into that more. Before the transplanted lungs began to fail, she found herself really back on the organ transplant list. And again, thanks to another complete stranger, which she refers to as her hero, her life was spared again and she received another, a second set of beautiful lungs at the age of 23. Now some two and a half years later, she's in palliative care because of the complications. When I ask Tiffany to give a little bio or a little background about herself, this is what stands out to me. She said, what I've learned in all of this is to take each moment for what it is. Don't get lost trying to predict the future.

and don't get lost because you're stuck in the past. This all adds up to the same consequence, which is time lost. We already have a short or we already are living a life too short. Life is so beautiful. Don't miss it as it's happening. And that was from the beautiful Tiffany Center. So Tiffany, welcome to the show. Thank you for being here.

Thank you so much for having me. You know, the pleasure is absolutely mine. And we were reminiscing and kind of catching up a little bit before. We went live here and I forgot a couple of the things that we did together and I'm excited to share with those today. But basically, I want to tell a little bit about the story how I met you. And I've been a raving fan of you and your family and your massive following you have. And really what sticks out to me, especially as a coach and somebody that works with mindset and belief systems and stuff all the time is your belief and your positivity is a level 10. And it's a level 10, a very significant part of the time.

Obviously, you share your trials and tribulations and challenges you have for all of us to follow with. But your positivity is absolutely infectious, contagious. And I really love and value and appreciate you because of that. But the reason we're here today, in my opinion, is to bring a little bit of light to what cystic fibrosis is to some of the struggles you've been through. And then really, I'm just really excited to get to what makes you tick. What makes you stay and have the ability to stay so positive with that. So with that, did I miss anything in the edification? Anything you want to add to that?

You're pretty spot on, you know, as far as what's happened and where I'm currently at in my journey of palliative care. So, you know, what is your age? now you're 26? I am. I'm 26 so my birthday's in June. Yeah, June 7th, right? Yes, you have a great memory. June 7th. So, you know, when I met you, it was on the side of the road in Redding, California. They were doing some kind of fundraiser, and I was with my young son at the time, and I stopped really to influence him and giving. You know, I thought, here's somebody that's having a fundraiser. I don't remember exactly. I don't know if it was a car washer. I think it might even been a popcorn stand or something.

I think so. Was it a popcorn? So it was something that you were raising money for your first set of lungs, right? Back in 2011, 10-11? Yeah, 2011. 2011. So in pulling over, really, again, for my son's benefit, I was touched. I was immediately touched. And we donated and then we actually handed out, don't expect you to remember this, but we handed out popcorn on the side of the road. We were waving down cars. We, we had, we contributed to a successful event, basically. And I left with my heart completely full for getting to know you and your story, but also for the contributions you and your words had on my son. And I'm already, I'm already getting a little choked up. So this is going to, I could tell this interview is going to be a good one. So here's the thing is that it, it, it, it, it, it, it

had an effect on me that day, has effect on me today, right? Eight years later, and I'm so, so blessed to have you on the show. You reminded me, I didn't remember this, but we did some event after the fact, right? After that first initial meeting? Yes, so you actually have been a huge support and a great, you know, contributor to my fundraisers because after the popcorn fundraiser, you did also partake in an auction that we did to fundraise because I was required to move away from home for my transplant. And so you actually put on an auction as well. It's funny. I recall that now, but I didn't remember that when we first started talking, but it was at Wind River Casino.

It was. It was, right? It was upstairs Wind River Casino. And I don't remember, I think people donated. and we'd I think I was the MC and we did we did kind of a silent auction and just you know raised awareness and raised money and I don't remember what we raised I'd be lying if I remembered but it was significant I remember that it was it was it was so successful and yes it was it was really an absolute blessing to be involved with that you know I think my son was at that event too I'm almost positive of it

because I remember you and and your your charm and your your your beauty and more of anything, your energy was just like, like I said, it was, it was really magnetizing to myself and to my son, especially at that younger age for him. He's about your age. My oldest is 27. My youngest is 24. I think it was Tanner I had with me, which is 24 now. So that means, you know, he was probably 15 and you were 18, roughly. Because I remember he had maybe a little crush on you. So just in case he's watching. It's funny because I know your older son. Cody, yeah. Yeah, so when I met you, it was almost like we were kind of destined to run into each other one day.

Right, right. So it's been awesome. And I know, you know, I know your family a little bit too. Do you still have the same boyfriend? Nope. Oh, sorry. I knew I bring up a touchy subject. But I remember your boyfriend back then and he was with you for several years.

So I remember the, I remember that. and then I followed your journey literally daily. And we have so many friends that I can see post and liking on your things that are really, I had no idea that they were all that connected to you as well. So it's become this really marching family for Tiffany and your journey. And most of your posts and things get hundreds and hundreds of communications and likes and love and the comments are unbelievable. So let me ask you.

and it may be personal or not, but does that Facebook awareness and the contributions of others through likes and loves and comments and all that stuff, does that fuel you? Does that, is that a big part of what keeps you going? Absolutely. I mean, not necessarily, you know, how many likes I get, but the fact that I have seen so many people from all over the world that don't know me at all. They just heard about my story through someone sharing or talking about it. Come on my page and offer, you know, unconditional love and support and the most heartfelt words. And then people get invested in my story. And it helps me

so much because I know, you know, even when the times are hard and I might not have something positive to say that day that I have a whole team of people that are still going to be there for me to hold me up and help me get through this. It makes me feel like I'm never alone going through this. And I feel like there's nothing more powerful than that, honestly. Like love is the best thing in the world. And I've been fortunate to have a lot of it. Yeah, you absolutely do. And, you know, I know I'm going to cry a couple times on this. It's just going to happen. So I'm just going to admit it now. I'm a guy and I'm allowed to cry. But you know, it's really it's really tears of love. I have no, I have no feelings of like feeling bad for you. I mean, your journey is is so incredible.

But it's your love that that brings out that emotion to me. And that's what I really, really love. So tell us a little bit about cystic fibrosis. And have you ever heard of it? referred to. I think I told you this years ago, but 65 roses. Have you ever heard that? I have. Is that a popular translation? Because I know a lot of young children that have it, they came up with 65 roses since it was easier to pronounce. And that has stuck around. It's amazing because, yeah, I know to this day, they still even tell kids when they're newly diagnosed because they do have such a hard time pronouncing cystic fibrosis, but you have 65 fibroses disease.

Wow. And it's kind of a cool little, you know, story. And it sounds so much alike that. I know. I know. I didn't realize that. That's very cool. But it is, you know, primarily a lung disease, genetic.

And basically what happens with cystic fibrosis is it causes an overload of mucus in our bodies. And so even though primarily, it affects the lungs. Also, our GI systems and pancreas and other organs are impacted just because we have that overload of mucus, just invading our body and, you know, wreaking all this havoc. Interesting. And with my particular situation, it has always been affected, like, impacted my lungs more than the rest of my body, which is why by the time I was 16, I started going through my first evaluation for a double lung transplant. I didn't even know it was a thing, honestly. And I was going to UC Davis

for clinics, and I was a freshman in high school when they originally brought this up to me and had told me, which I had known that, you know, cystic fibrosis is progressive. So as you get older, it gets worse. And that's because you deal with these reoccurring lung infections. And there comes a point when they just scar your lungs and you can't reverse that scarring after so long. Is that like pneumonia or is what is similar to I'm really not, you know, aware of how it works? I mean, it is, you know, like just being chronically sick every single day. And then we, one of the biggest things for us as people with cystic fibrosis is that we have to be so aware of our surroundings and who is sick because something that is a cold to someone that actually has an immune system and a healthy immune system can become quickly pneumonia.

us, which turns into two to three weeks in the hospital and IV antibiotics. Wow. And so pretty much anything that is considered a common cold, you know, is actually life-threatening for us. And that's why over time, you know, just catching these common colds, it really does irreversible damage to us and gets to the point where our lungs can no longer reverse. reverse that because it impacts your lung function. And so anytime you have scarring and you are not able to gain that function back, it decreases the overall lung function that you live with. And

there's only a certain amount, you know, that you can still breathe with, which is why I needed a double lung transplant to live. That's crazy. So when did you first learn that you had cystic Vibrosis. What age were you? So I was seven days old. Oh, wow. Um, an infant and they had known that there was something wrong with my mom's pregnancy. They wife flighted in her to UC Davis in Sacramento. After the pregnancy. Yes. When for, um, well, when I was going into labor, she was going into labor with me. Okay. Okay. They, wife flighted her to Davis because they had known that there was, something not quite right with the pregnancy. Right.

I was a month premature. And then, yes, right, when I was born, I was taken straight to surgery. And seven days later, they came back and told my parents, I have cystic fibrosis. I don't know if it's just because they didn't know quite as much about cystic fibrosis when my parents were young. Right. But I'm the only one we can directly find in my family that has it. And it is genetic.

It is a genetic disease, but it jumped generations or something. Yeah. And, you know, it wasn't, even to this day, I feel like is one of my biggest factors in raising awareness for cystic fibrosis is a lot of people still just don't know what it is. Yeah. And I read there was less than. 200,000 cases in the whole U.S. per year, I guess.

Right. So it's, you know, it's pretty rare, but then I guess when you look at how many people are now in the United States, it's not as rare as it might seem. Yeah. And so that is why I try to raise awareness for it because it's, as much as I don't want it to, it also has kind of dictated my life. And, you know, I want to find. find a cure for as soon as I can. Yeah, totally. And again, you know, we talk about your positivity

and stuff and maybe against insurmountable odds at times, it seems. So walk me through the emotions of when you first found out you were in your teenage years that you had to have a double lung transplant. Yeah. So it's ironic because, yes, I was a freshman. going to public high school here, Shasta High School. Yeah. And I had actually hid CF from my closest friends, from anyone at school, my entire life, because, of course, you don't want to be that kid, you know, that's different or get, you know, questioned about why, why are you gone for weeks at a time?

Yeah. I just didn't, I've never wanted my disease to make an impact on how people look at me, because I'm still a human and I never wanted anyone to treat me differently. So I actually hit it. And then when UC Davis told me that my only shot of survival was going to be to switch centers. So I go to Stanford now. Yeah, okay. It was UC Davis now you're at Stanford, right?

Right, because Davis doesn't actually do doubling transplants. Gotcha. And so when they told me that news, at the same time, they actually told me if I did not switch schools to more like a homeschool or an independent school setting, I probably wouldn't have made it to even get a transplant because one infection was so risky at that point. And around all those kids and everything. Exactly. And so it was the beginning of my sophomore year. They gave me the news that I was going to need to switch to, excuse me, to put something stuck. That's okay.

Need some water? Okay, there we go. Good job. So they gave me the news then that not only was I going to need to switch to Stanford to be evaluated, I was also. going to have to switch to an independent school. And so, of course, when I made that change, from having all these friends every day and to all of a sudden being, you know, secluded at home, a lot of people reached out and had questions. And that was a turn of events for me when I realized I shouldn't be hiding this.

I should use this as, you know, a way to raise awareness. And so I decided I completely changed my perspective and at that point and quit worrying about, you know, if I would be treated differently or anything like that and instead wanted to embrace it. And I did. I made the switch to an independent school while I was getting listed. at Stanford from my lungs. And around that same time, actually, is when I started fundraising because I found out that I would have to move down to the Stanford area for three to six months afterward for healing.

And so I was, you know, at the beginning, it was very scary to tell everyone that I have, you know, a terminal illness, especially being 16. But then it turned into something so beautiful because I started sharing my story, you know, just through social media. And as I got sicker and required oxygen and wasn't able to leave my house as much, that became my connect to the world. And I was still able to write on my feelings. And I just received so much. positive feedback and so much support that it makes me wonder why, you know, I didn't share it sooner. Right, of course.

But totally normal reaction to hide it. And yeah, you know, it was just, it just became something that I never imagined it could be. I never realized that by sharing my story, you know, I could reach so many people and not just people that have told me I've made a difference to them, but no, even coming across people like you that have continually stayed in my life and supported me and we've been able to support each other. I feel like it's a mutual thing where I also meet people that, you know, change my life because I have put it out there.

And it's been the biggest constant blessing through all of the ups and days. downs of my health is just having, you know, having all these people, not behind me, but I like to say that everyone's by my side, walking right with me. Totally. You've become an ambassador really of hope and faith and inspiration. And, you know, the journey that we've been beside you has been our pleasure. It's not, you know, it's been nothing but an absolute pleasure to watch such a beautiful young lady just, you know, when you see what you go through, I go, I am such a, excuse me, but are you kidding me, you know? And so you rise people up in their belief of what is tolerable, what's allowed to control them. And that is amazing. And so for me, you know,

sometimes I'll be having an off day or whatever and I'll scroll through and run across one of your posts. And it's like you're being the one that's shorn everybody up. You're being the ray of sunshine. And it raises everybody else up because of it. And I do believe you've been an incredible leader and ambassador of that hope. To me, it just gets back to hope. And it is a terminal disease. It is something that you've got to fight for the rest of your life, literally. And people take for granted.

You know, it's amazing that white men over 50, usually it's the wealthy or the ones that kill themselves. It's like it makes no sense that billionaires are killing themselves. when there's perfectly healthy people trying to fight for their life. And I feel that's in my own eyes. Of course, I did not choose the path of cystic fibrosis. And had I had a look into the future, I'm sure I wouldn't have picked it. But because I do have it, I honestly feel like it's such a blessing in that way because

life is not about money and it's not about materialistic things. For me, when I wake up feeling okay and I can get out of bed and I can have a conversation with my parents and you know, weightlifting is one of my biggest things. I swear by it that it's helped keep me alive longer. If I can just complete those tasks for the day and be at home and not in a hospital bed, I feel like I've had a great day, and I think that in a way, it's unrealistic to kind of put this view on everyone else because I'm certain I also probably wouldn't have had it if I didn't have a terminal illness. But my hope by sharing my story is that, you know, I can spread that view a little bit because I think that we all get stuck in a rush. in a routine and we get focused on money or focused on our careers and we forget about the things

that really matter. And, you know, life is short and the truth is, I feel like once you're gone, the money you made isn't going to make a difference to you anymore. It's going to be how you lived your life and, you know, your family and all the love that you shared and, you know, received because that's priceless. That's, you know, you can't buy those things. And I just feel super grateful that there's organ donors out there that have given me a chance to live here longer because life is beautiful. Like, there's a lot of bad, but overall, life is just an awesome place to be. I just, I love you in your spirit, you know, and it is.

Have you thought about writing a book? It is something that crosses my mind, definitely, because, again, I feel like I receive a lot of comments that I'm helping other people, and I'm so grateful, and I feel like if my struggles help even one person, then I will gladly go through this the rest of my life. but also all the people that come in contact with me because of it and leave those types of comments change my life and like get me hyped up and I hear a lot about you should write a book

and writing is something that is a passion to me but it's it's more just it's also a coping mechanism and so when I receive like great feedback like that it definitely fires me up to maybe write a book because if people can enjoy it and I also, you know, I'm helped by sharing then, you know, I feel like I have a lot to, a lot to gain and nothing to lose. You do. You got it, sister. You really, I don't want to shit on you, but you should write a book. I mean, and if I can help in my limited capacity, understanding of that, but I do, I have some connections with ghost writing, different things. I'm 100% able, willing and wanting to help you do that if you choose to do that.

Because I think you have an amazing story of inspiration and hope and perspective to me. When I think of Tiffany, I think of perspective and I think of hope and I think of belief. And that is, that's a thing that a lot of people miss and you're absolutely right. We go through the caring about what other people say. And I love how in the beginning you said, I don't care about likes. because that's kind of like an exterior thing for you, right? It's exterior things don't matter. It's the internal stuff.

It's the comments. It's the love. It's the support. It's the side by side. And too many people are getting caught up in this like world. And, you know, they judge everything based on how many likes they get on social media and stuff, which is just complete bullshit. I agree. You know, and try not to cuss too much so your mom and grandma and everybody could be proud to listen to.

to your interview because I'm a Coast Guard sailor, you know, but, you know, I just, and by the way, I want to say this, if you get tired or if you need to take a break or breath or whatever, just please do that. I don't want you to feel like overdoing it because I tell, I could tell it's a little bit of a struggle to just be talking this much and stuff. And so please let me know, okay, we will be just fine jumping off whenever you're ready for that. Oh, thank you. Okay, I could talk to you all day, but. Let's make sure, okay? So do you have a challenge, like continued talking?

Just what's your breathing capacity at if you, you know, how's that work? So actually, what happens after you have in cystic fibrosis, after you have your lungs replaced is the reason, you know, that they do both lungs at the same time instead of one is because if they were to only do, then cystic fibrosis would immediately infect my other one. So by removing both of them, they essentially get rid of cystic fibrosis in your lungs. However, I still have it in the rest of my body. And then the problem then becomes organ rejection. And that's why my first set of lungs eventually failed was because once you have an organ transplant, they suppress your immune system to almost where it's non-existent.

So it doesn't fight off that new lung. Exactly. Because your body's a beautiful thing, but it's also a wicked mechanism, right? And that's, you know, that's where the problem start, unfortunately, is because you eventually, you know, they keep you as immune compromised as they can have you without, sending you into a world where you're going to catch everything because you have to at least have you know a little something to fight yeah um but then that leaves the immune system open to realizing that these organs are not yours um and they attack them like an infection um because it

picks up that it's not you know hey these lungs were not this is not what i was born with right And not my DNA. We got to fight it. We got to get rid of it. Wow. And so that is what happened with my first set of lungs. And what is actually happening to my second currently, second set of donor lungs, I was diagnosed with chronic rejection about a year and a half ago.

And there are different types of rejections. some of them are curable. Chronic rejection, however, is not. And they pretty much describe it to you as you'll have one huge drop in your lung function and then usually it'll stabilize for a little and then you'll have another drop. I've been very fortunate for the past 11, 12 months to have stabilized lung function. However, this past week, it's always kind of a matter of when is this going to actually hit and, you know, start to take a toll. So I follow up with Stanford routinely, usually once a month.

And I did have a clinic appointment this week that did not go very well because I did see another significant drop in lung function. and pretty much how they base this lung function is if you have 80% of both of your lungs working together or above, they consider that normal. So in an average person that doesn't have cystic fibrosis, you know, or chronic rejection. And when I became in-stage CF, so when I was 18 before I ever received donor, lungs. Right. I function with an average of 25% of both my lungs together working. Oh, does that feel like somebody standing on your chest or what's the feeling of that? It is. It's, you know, you literally, after every, I remember every word I would say, I would have to,

like, gasp, you know, taking a good breath after and exercising was not a part of my life because I was, I felt like I was drowning with anything that I did. And I wore oxygen 24-7. But it's the scariest feeling in the world. Yeah, it is. In the Coast Guard, they try to drown you just to get you to understand that feeling of being held underwater because a lot of time rescue people will try to pull themselves out of the water on the rescue swimmer, which then puts us underwater and we have to get used to. You can't get used to not breathing. but they want you to understand what it feels like to gasp and to be out of air.

So I've had that unfortunate experience a couple of times. And it's the most frightening thing I've ever done in my life is not being able to breathe. And people don't realize that unless they've been in a drowning situation or in your situation. Definitely. I mean, because honestly, who wakes up in the morning, you know, right? And goes about their daily activities thinking like, wow, I am so. thankful that I have this air in my lungs because it's so natural. We take it for granted.

And for me, I have suffocated, you know, is what it felt like, while still just clinging to life because I was hoping for another shot to make it to lungs. And that was kind of like what functioning with 25% lung function became like. And then, you know, thank God for my donor, my first donor. I was actually for the first time in my entire life, 18 years. I felt like I could breathe. I could take a deep breath. I could hike.

I could, you know, I went skydiving, like just things that. You went skydiving? I did because I knew I had the lungs. You're a little adrenaline junkie, aren't you? I knew I had the lungs, you know, to do it. it. Wow. I was just,

I like, I like adrenaline. Makes life exciting. And I know, like I said, that we're not here for a long time. I'm, personally,

I'm just here for a good time. So I like to, I like to do those kinds of crazy things. I saw you rock climb. It's, so being outside with nature, even when I was towing around oxygen all the time, to me that's what life is it's you cannot get any closer to it than nature and you know hearing

the birds and just the things that people probably think are like cliche um to me connect me connect me the most and make me grateful like hey i'm alive and i'm here to enjoy these things and to be outside and breathe in fresh air um so i've i long like next in my writing Nature is something I definitely try to spend time in. It just reminds me what really matters and not to get too caught up in the hustle and bustle of, you know, the craziness that life can be. Yeah. So I do love to hike and that was something I spent my five years that I was given doing and, you know, just doing things. like going to college, I could not do that before because I didn't have the breath to walk around campus.

So those types of things, I was able to go back and have the gift of actually doing them. And again, I wasn't excited every single day I went to college. But the overall bigger picture was I'm alive to be able to even go. And that's not something I was supposed to do. Right. according to the doctors, I was not going to make it. And so I really tried to live every single breath of those donor lungs that I had until I did need to be relisted for a second double lung transplant at Stanford. And this time, I declined much quicker.

So with cystic fibrosis, essentially I had 18 years to kind of adapt and reach my end stage. Yeah. This time around, I had gone from 93% lung function, feeling like I was living, you know, on top of the world. Yeah. To about seven months later, I was at nine. Nine? Nine. And so even that brought a whole new meaning.

to my life because I thought I had seen the worst and I thought I had pushed my body to its limits by functioning with 25% and I was still hanging on with nine and that just serves as like a great reminder that our bodies and our minds are way more powerful than we give the credit for yeah totally um um How's your family and your close friends, you know, do they have a different look in life because of your looking at through your eyes and your experiences? I know that I'm very close with my family and everything I go through, they go through it with me, you know. And we all definitely know the value of wife. and we make our time.

We're a family that spends a lot of quality time together, and probably most people my age are out, you know, at the bars and out, you know, doing things like that where I'm, I have a different view, and so does my family. And we really just try to make the most of what we have because we know. Our most valuable commodity. Exactly. You can't get it back.

back. And so I think that, you know, they do, they do appreciate life just by seeing what I've struggled through, just trying to live. Right. And this, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but to me, I'm like, I want to take somebody that's smoking on purpose, damaging their beautiful, perfect lungs and just choke them out personally now. And, you know, do you go through those kind of emotional things to where you see somebody taking something for granted, whether it's drug use or abusive alcohol or whatever it is. And then you just, from your perspective, I'd love to hear what your brain thinks, being in a capacity of knowing that people are taken really for granted what God's gift is, which is perfectly healthy, functional everything from lungs beyond.

So, I mean, I come from a place of when I see people struggle with addiction or, you know, bad habits, I know that none of us are perfect. And it's, you know, it's really easy, I guess, to, if you're not struggling with your health, it's not something that you think about. Of course, I'm like over here, you know, with me and my friends even are on, you know, transplant list and because it is something out of our control. There is a part of me that I don't feel anger or anything like that. I just, I wish I could make them feel or not even feel what I've felt,

but just see life through my eyes because I think that would be enough of a motivation to change. I feel mostly just sadness for them because they're missing out on what could be, you know, yeah, 90% long function and living a great quality life. And it's just kind of, especially the ones that get stuck in addiction and things like that, it can be a waste. And that's what makes me sad for them is because they're just, they're missing out on a lot.

and it's not something I really take personal, but it's hard, of course. I expected a classy answer like that from you, young. Yeah, I really did. And, you know, we have to embrace everybody where they are, right? Because everybody's on their own journey. Shoot, my own journey has changed in the last two, three, ten, twenty years. And I just finished a physical, thought it was a physical, 75 hard challenge it's called. I don't know if you've tracked with it on the internet at all, but basically it's

75 days of two workouts a day and this whole regiment of things to do. And I completed it. And for me, it was amazing how much mental it was. It was not physical. It was physical for 10 or 15 days. It was all mental because you just want to quit when nobody's looking. You can cheat easily. You know, it's all, it's for you. And going through that, I had several stages of ahas. And some of the ahas were it when I'm when I'm eating a cheeseburger I know is bad for me. me or if I'm drinking excessively and I know it's bad for me and I'm mentally blocking it because I'm putting in a proportionate can that I'm good over here but this and that. And when you get completely clear and have clarity, which maybe you're in that place,

health-wise or the understanding and not taking it for granted, for me, I realized I was taken it for granted that I had that option and opportunity and that every decision I made had an alternate consequence to it. And so for me, it elevated my coaching. It elevated my belief in health and, and I think I might even be a vegetarian out, which is scary to say on camera. Oh, my, no bacon?

No bacon. I guarantee my friend in North Carolina, or in Louisiana that listens to this is going to fall out of his chair laughing right there on the bacon thing. But, you know, again, for me, it's in moderation. I'm not quitting, eating meat and dairy necessarily because I'm trying to save cattle or chickens.

That's not me, right? I'm just being integral. I believe that there's some real challenges in those areas. But for me, it's knowledge. When I watched a show and they talked to, it's called game changers, and they talk about how your body thrives plant-based foods. And your body, you know, has a lot of healing properties in plant-based foods. And I'm like, well, cavemen ate meat.

and they're like, well, actually, they think cavemen were vegetarians. And I'm like, you know, it just changes everything you believe. And then all of a sudden, when you lose that, it opens up the next category of belief and what's possible. And, you know, for me, I relate it to your vision of what you're going through. And I'm just so impressed by you of how you're able to compartmentalize, this is my situation, this is what I can do about it. And I think that's literally the holy grail for people.

And if they get anything out of this, I think they take away that that beautiful soul that you have that is able to say that. And you could hate the world. You know, a lot of people live in a place of blame and a place of this. I haven't heard that in your mouth one time. I think I honestly, I get asked that question.

especially now being in palliative care. And people ask me, being 26, how do you not wake up every day bitter? And I feel like, if anything, the fact that I am kind of on a ticking time clock is more of a reason for me to focus on my blessings and be happy and get out and do what I can do while I'm still able to do it. Because I'm already losing time. and I don't want to be miserable. I'm not a miserable person. I know that my situation could be so much worse. I could have been dead a long time ago. And because of people that, you know, I've chose to be donors, I am still here. And I feel it's my job and, you know, my desires

to live the happiest and most fulfilling life I can, especially knowing that it's probably going to be short, but that's okay because I, you know, I can have peace knowing that I have a lot of love and I have so many blessings. And I think that living miserable and being bitter gets you nowhere. It's not going to take away the fact that I have cystic fibrosis. And what I can control is how I respond to my news. And that's the best thing that I can do for myself. So then I'm actually happy when my journey does reach an end. I just love you.

You know, you really are an inspiration to me. Thank you. A lot of people. So you're welcome. As we, excuse me, as we wrap up this segment, what is the one thing you'd like to leave in people's minds is a takeaway

from this interview with us together? Just don't get stuck on the small things. Don't worry too much about the future and, you know, or about what's happened in the past because you could really be missing out on great things that are happening right now and today. And, you know, just make the most of your time. And spread love.

I feel like I've been so blessed as far as how much love I've received and how much I can give. And that's the best thing about life. And, you know, just appreciate what you have before it's gone. would be my biggest thing. That's a big thing. I really appreciate you being here today. It means a tremendous amount to me. It's one of my favorite shows and segments.

Thank you so much. I know there's a lot of people that love and care about you. Well, thank you for being here today. You don't have a boyfriend, so I'm going to give you a kiss. Boom. Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Have a wonderful day.

And God bless and have a great holiday season. Next couple days, turkey day. Thank you. I'll definitely be eating a lot. Thank you for your time. We love you. We support you. We appreciate you. Thank you so much. Bye for now.