Conclusion

A Cystic Fibrosis diet can be healthy and thrive. I am very passionate about healthy eating in general and have seen the wonders it has done for my son living with CF. With each generation the median age of life expectancy grows rapidly. Just because one has CF does not mean it prevents them from other ailments, I see so many things in Brandon and his diet that is considered by many rather strange and non CF like. My Aunt Jill, mother to Rachel with CF, even stated she didn’t understand Brandon’s diet because it was rather different from Rachel’s diet. I have been rather impressed with all the things I was stumbling upon in Brandon’s diet. It became clear to me that diet is extremely important to the health of all CF’ers. This is not any secret, but I don’t think many have really committed to eating healthy when for so long it has been accepted to just get the fat in, no matter the source. To be honest I would have to say it would have not really happened this way for me if it weren’t for Brandon’s allergy and texture issues. I had to get creative and it worked, and it worked well. In the beginning I admit that I was nervous to do things outside the normal way. I know that many around us were nervous too. I know I had support and many people pulling for Brandon. Some of it felt like dumb luck to me at first until I understood it. I was just going for healthy and high fat, high protein. Brandon was the one who did most of the work. It has been a long road for all of us involved. If it weren’t for our friends, and family and Brandon’s care team at the CF clinic we wouldn’t be where we are today. Although it has seemed like Brandon never truly “struggled” with his weight, it has always been a fight. Brandon was always a step ahead of bad. The anxiety and stress on us all, and the inner thought of “is it going to be enough” lurking at every weigh in. Deep down I always knew these things stacked up against him could have quickly and easily been the death of him. I used to cry at night in prayer wanting that miracle. I know that I was presented with the opportunity to make that miracle happen.
I started out just giving Brandon a protein shake here and little papaya there, observing what it would do to him. After the threat of the feeding tube I felt like it was time to put my beliefs and knowledge into full action. After a month’s time I brought Brandon back in for his follow up appointment and he gained two and a half pounds. When his doctor came in and examined him she was shocked at his weight gain and then she asked how we did it. I told her about Brandon’s Ultimate Protein Shake. She wrote down all the ingredients and looked at it for a second and looked up at me and said “I am glad you found out something that worked for him, keep up the good work!” Then she talked about other matters and left. My husband looked at me and high fived me, he said I looked like I was gloating in my head. Truth is I was smiling from ear to ear and I was proud of myself, of course there was a part of me that was singing the praise song, “I did it, I did it, Yay!” and then it moved into an imaginative happy dance. This was a confirmed success that this was it, not just for my little boy but for all CF’ers it was a moment of joy for me. I found out what works! Since my plan works it almost sounds silly to go to the old way of butter and fast food. I can’t know, for right now, the impact as far as life expectancy. But I can make a good guess that CF bodies will be more equipped for the fight, by upgrading their armor. It’s time to embrace a healthy way of CF living