Hi guys, my name is Alex, I’m 28 years old and I have cystic fibrosis (CF).
I have much older siblings, so I pretty much grew up as an only child. I love outdoors, therefore I go on road trips and holidays often throughout the year. One of the reasons why I go on holidays often is because it’s good for my health. I love to go to the north coast of Western Australia, to the warmer, salty aired weather. Just recently my fiancé asked me to marry him in Exmouth; our favourite place to be.
How do you stay positive about living with CF and motivated to do treatments?
Childhood was easy for me. I was a healthy, happy “normal” child. My parents obviously did all my treatments for me and kept me at my healthiest. My ever first admission into hospital was when I was 18! I thank my parents for their love, support and ongoing commitment to my health. But over the last 10 years my health has declined a bit.
What can we do? We can stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can until there’s better and more controlling medication to stabilise our condition. Maybe even a cure, who knows…. let’s have hope! I am stable; however, life has changed dramatically since I was 18. Sometimes I wish I could turn back time…but anyone can say that!
I also stay positive. How do I stay positive? I set myself goals and ensure I achieve them or get as close as I can. If I fail, who cares? Without failure we wouldn’t be who we are today. Just never give up.
Living with CF can be tricky, believe me! I have had my ups and downs, and as I get older I wonder what the future has in store for me. All I know is that I have a supportive and loving family and fiancé, and that they are there for me no matter what.
Can you tell us about how you achieved your dream job as a makeup artist? And how you mange CF and work?
I had always wanted my own business but never knew what. After many years of trying different things and studying; personal training, massage therapy, hairdressing, accounting, bookkeeping and the list goes on, I finally found my niche; makeup!
It started as a hobby three years ago and I’ve now turned it into a part time/casual business as a professional freelance makeup artist and social media influencer. This means I use my large following on social media (Instagram) to show my audience my makeup work and also share what it’s like living with CF, with the hope to raise awareness. With such a supportive audience, it keeps me motivated and driven to stay healthy and work towards my goals.
Deciding to quit my office job and do only makeup was a challenge. But, the best decision I have ever made! I couldn’t be happier. I have freedom. And freedom makes me less stressed which gives me a little more quality of life, which is a necessity living with CF. I worked smarter, not harder, to get where I am today, and by concentrating on that I am successful. I am so proud of what I have achieved. Anyone can do this. It’s your choice to never give up. Because I have the freedom, I am able to manage my CF well! I can do my treatments when I need to and have the time off to recuperate when I need to. This is so important too, to ensure that you keep on top of your treatments. AND because I share that I have CF with my clients and social media followers, they all understand what I am going through, and are so supportive.
From, Alex
Interview from Rozee, 2019.