The Breath of Life
And the
Lord God formed man
of the
dust of the ground,
and
breathed into his nostrils
the breath
of life;
and man became
a living soul.
--
Genesis 2:7
Lindsay Wadleigh is a beautiful
young woman. What's the most breathtaking thing about her is that she has
accomplished so much while quietly struggling with a life-threatening disease.
Lindsay
Wadleigh . . . a breathtaking young woman with a breathtaking
attitude
of hope and courage.
Literally, it's a "breath-taking"
disease: cystic fibrosis. It's an all-out assault on the lungs and digestive
system. It'll take your breath away in a very negative sense. In fact, not too
long ago, if you lived to be 18 with CF, you were doing pretty well. Thanks to
medical advances, that life expectancy has nearly doubled. But it's still a
serious and scary situation.
Every day, Lindsay has to take
dozens of pills, use various inhalers based on what's going on in her body,
inhale more medicine, and perform chest physical therapy treatments. Whenever
she's just "hanging out" and relaxing, she does more of the therapy that will
hopefully keep her lungs free of fluids, among other negative consequences.
A
younger Lindsay in a production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
But that regimen has not deterred
Lindsay. Now 25, has been a national model and spokesperson. She is a singer, a
dancer and a choreographer. She is a performer in, and director of, plays. She
auditioned for American Idol. Now
engaged, she plans to pursue a master's degree in nonprofit management so that
she can devote her life to the fight against CF.
Hard to believe such a good singer and dancer
could have a lung disease like cystic fibrosis.
Her mother, the former Barbara Zoob
of Omaha, says it best: "She is multi-talented, kind, positive and a wonderful
spirit. She never complains about anything! One of her many purposes in life is
to inspire people. She seems to do that everywhere she goes. She is a wonderful
role model and a hero to many. We are so blessed to have her in our lives."
The word
"inspiration" is another word for breathing, and Lindsay's courageous decision
as a teenager to keep her condition a secret while she pursued her goals has breathed
courage and hope into all who know her. Seeking sympathy as a helpless or
frightened victim of circumstances beyond her control? That attitude is not
even in the realm of possibility for this young woman.
Lindsay said, "Something that I
think is common among people with chronic illnesses, which I definitely share,
is an intense desire or preoccupation with being 'normal.' All of the
treatments I had to do in order to remain healthy made me different, and in the
mind of a child growing up there is nothing worse.
"As a result, I hid the disease from
everyone, and by all others' accounts I was normal: I had no visible symptoms
of CF in youth aside from the occasional cough, so all who knew me in childhood,
high school and even college had no reason to speculate about my health."
She also wanted to be judged on the
merits of her performances, not have it diminished by pity or eclipsed by
attention to CF. Then her successes wouldn't have meant as much.
Her mother remembers sitting in the
audience watching other parents clap for her daughter after a high school
performance and "wanting to stand up and just tell them how much she had
overcome just to be up there on the stage, let alone being the lead."
The
multitalented young woman has found that singing actually helps her lungs.
Ironically, singing helps keep
Lindsay's lungs healthy. Though she was already modeling nationally at the age
of five, she was, as her mother puts it, "a closet singer" for many
years. "Then one day I was walking by her bedroom door and heard the most
amazing singing."
Singing regularly improves her lung
function over time by exercising and expanding her airways. "If I'm
singing in the moment, I often have to fight against the 'therapeutic' effects
of the exercise, such as my lungs releasing mucus, but long-term it really
improves my overall breath capacity," she explained.
"It's pretty incredible that
something she loves so much has actually made her healthier," added her mother.
And able to compete at the highest
levels. However, Lindsay had to wait for 11 hours for her American Idol audition in the hot California sun, was not at her
best, and was not asked back. But she wasn't too mad. Like marathon runners,
the whole point was in getting there and finishing the challenge.
"You know what I told
her?" her mother commented. "I told her that if I had heard about
someone like her, back when she was first diagnosed -- someone living life to
its fullest and pursuing all of their dreams -- it would have meant the world
to me."
So no
wonder Lindsay now shares her story at CF fund-raisers whenever she gets a
chance. Here is the text of the speech she plans to give at an upcoming one. It
shows what an amazing young woman she really is.
By Lindsay Wadleigh
"When I was 5 years old I told a newspaper reporter that
I hoped to be a kitten when I grew up. That's right, a kitten. Needless to say,
as I approached the age of 9 or 10, my feline ambition became less and less of
a reality. But as childlike as my comment was, it withholds a certain
poignancy. After all, this newspaper article was about a 5-year old's battle
with Cystic Fibrosis. And while I spoke openly about treatments and medicines,
my goals and aspirations were virtually unaffected by my disease. I had the
freedom to scheme and dream about a future unbound by limitations. I had hope.
Hope. That is the miraculous gift that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has given
me, despite the many struggles CF has presented me with in my 25 years.
As a preschooler, I recall keeping the 5-6 pills I'd take
throughout the school-day in a lunchbox that stowed away in my desk. Since
then, I've graduated to taking roughly 35-50 pills a day. Every year that I
grow older, I lose lung function, and have to invest more time in doing daily
treatments to slow this progression. I've been hospitalized three times in the
past three years to eradicate potentially life-threatening strains of bacteria
in my lungs. Where I used to have a balloon full of air, today it feels as
though I'm breathing out of a straw that continues to get thinner and thinner.
And because I'm a trained dancer and singer that rehearses regularly, the impact,
for me, is devastating.
In spite of these obstacles, I have always been encouraged
and enlivened by the words of my uncle, Barry Zoob. By an incredible twist of
fate, my Uncle Barry happened to be volunteering for the Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation at the time I began to exhibit symptoms. When my diagnosis was
confirmed at 9 months of age, my uncle told my mother to turn her despair into
advocacy and fundraising.
For the 6 years that followed, the Wisconsin Chapter of
the foundation would be run out of our home, and I would be a national poster
child, interviewed by Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather for the evening news, and
participating in fundraisers on the weekends.
Growing up in the shadow of the foundation, I witnessed
and experienced firsthand the incredible impact of fundraising dollars. Today,
the CF Foundation's donor-supported research has led to new treatments that
significantly improve my quality of life.
And because I am participating in a Phase 3 clinical
trial for a pill described as the most promising treatment of CF to date, I
could be symptom-free in as soon as a couple of weeks.
Prior to these developments, I'd never even entertained
the idea of having healthy lungs again. Previously, they may have been
discounted as far-fetched, or even silly ideas--not unlike being a "kitten."
But the CF Foundation has granted me freedom to, once
again, dream of a future of limitless potential, where living a long and healthy
life can truly be a reality."
Keep on being inspiring, Lindsay. God be
with you. You take our breath away.
PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION IN LINDSAY'S HONOR
TO THE CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION, OR THE CF CHAPTER
NEAREST YOU. LEARN MORE ON:
www.cff.org
IF YOU LIVE IN OR NEAR OMAHA,
NOTE THAT LINDSAY WILL BE SPEAKING
AT THE CFF OF OMAHA'S BIG CHARITY GOLF FUND-RAISER
IN JULY 2010. IT'S A GREAT WAY TO GET INVOLVED,
AND MEET THIS OUTSTANDING YOUNG WOMAN.
