Brooke on life and CF

By Brooke Austin

Hi, my name is Brooke Austin.

I am 43 years old from Sydney and CF has been part of my life since I was about 18 months old.

I don’t know what life without CF is like. To me, it’s just part of who I am.

Nebs, physio, tablets, and coughing were just part of my day.

I remember my first admission when I was 10. Pretty scary being away from my parents for the first time but having lots of other kids to hang out with made it a bit better.

Over the years, I had a few admissions here & there, but in 1998 when I was in year 12, I had 3 in the same year – most in a year.

I’ve not had an easy time of it outside of CF. I lost my Mum when I was 12, and I was diagnosed at 14 with CFRD which brought on new challenges.

I made it through high school relatively unscathed as most of us manage to do and started working.

Working Life

Time for a new CF Adult struggle – do I tell my boss that I have CF? I left that one out until I had to tell her after I face-planted on the Pacific Hwy at Waitara after a hypo. “So, is there anything else you need to tell me?”  “Um, yeah there is…. I also have CF.”

I admit, I didn’t like to say I had CF in interviews because when I did, I didn’t get the job.

I even had one that I didn’t tell in the interview but on the first day, I told my boss. I later found out that he went straight upstairs to find out how he could get rid of me… to which he was told, no, you can’t.

I met my husband when I was 21. He did some research about CF when I told him and has been my rock ever since. We got married in 2005 and have travelled a lot. Thailand, Malaysia, England, France, Italy, Dubai, Bali and soon to be added to the list, Egypt & Abu Dhabi.

I never had trouble overseas except for when I forgot an insulin pen, forgot a cord for my nebulizer and had insulin stolen from the hotel fridge.

I have always been active – netball is my favourite sport and I still play as well as umpire.

Family Life

When it came to family, I had to go down the IVF road to have children. Fast forward to April 6, 2019, and the test was positive!

Let me tell you, being pregnant is hard work, let alone having CF & CFRD as well.

I was due 3 days before Christmas, but my body had other plans.

I had one or two weeks left at work and was feeling unusually low and tired. My boss sent me to go get checked out by my midwife.

I found out that night that I had 3 pulmonary embolisms in my lung, and I was going to become a mum a bit earlier than planned. I gave birth to my son Henry on 18th November 2019 at 11.43 pm by emergency Caesarian.

That was the last admission I had.

In July 2022, I was lucky enough to be given Trikafta. It has changed my life, to say the least. I almost feel normal. I rarely cough and have been able to stop a large portion of my meds! Best drug ever!

Ultimately, I don’t let CF dictate how my life goes. I celebrate every birthday a little more than most. It’s another year I am still kicking CF’s ass & still here.