“I am extremely happy with my life and I would like to show by example to others that life with CF can be a happy one!” My name is David, I am 36 years old and living with cystic fibrosis.  I was born in Iowa but have called Minnesota home for most of my life. Although I only have two biological siblings, one of which has CF, there are 17 people with CF in my family. I was adopted into a loving family of which many have CF, and each day is truly a blessing with such special people. I am grateful that I was able to get my nursing degree from Hennepyn Technical College and be able to use that knowledge in my career today as a nursing assistant home healthcare provider. I do specialize with CF patients. Although to many that can sound risky, I do take all precautions, such as always thoroughly washing my hands. This is a true passion to me, and I am happy to say that I am part of the National Registry for CF Nursing Group, and with this I am able to give back to the many patients living and battling daily with CF. Along with working, I also enjoy doing a great deal of volunteer work. I am part of the neighborhood watch program, which is very rewarding to me because this gives me time to exercise while watching out for others. I also spend a lot of time running a 24-hour CF support group hotline. This hotline helps the many CF patients and their families to have a place to call for any reason at any time. Other than working and providing my time to the community, I do try and stay active. Although I am not able to play hockey like I used to, I still enjoy swimming and bowling.  I hope to continue being healthy enough to travel down the path I am going down to not only better myself but all others around me. I know how important it is to stay compliant with my medication and treatments even when times get tough. To me, not taking care of myself is like a free ticket to jail because if I don’t take care of myself, I will be sick and not able to do anything.  I am so proud to say that I have been able to help so many, and I can only hope that I can continue helping many more and hopefully keep meeting my goals. I am extremely happy with my life and I would like to show by example to others that life with CF can be a happy one! Favorite Holiday: Christmas Favorite Food: Alligator Favorite Pastime: Hockey Favorite Movie: Harry Potter Favorite Music: Country Favorite Color: Red Nickname: CF Kid One Word to Describe You: Helpful Role Model: Kirby Puckett Favorite Words of Wisdom: “CF will not stand for cystic fibrosis, it will stand for CURE FOUND … ” Dream Vacation: Walt Disney World You can find David on: Facebook, Twitter and Cystic-L