I was 11 years old when I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, and at the time, I honestly had no idea what it was or what I meant. The CF team at Children’s did a fantastic job teaching us about the disease, and making sure I knew about therapies and meds, but they always made me feel like a regular kid. I had no idea how close I’d get to them over the next 21 years.

The CF team is like a part of my family. The intense dedication shown by the entire clinic, day in and day out, saved my life more than once. Dr. McCoy was my main pulmonologist, and without her, I know I wouldn’t be here right now. The entire team is just so special and so dedicated to giving the best possible care to every patient.

In 2005, I received the first double-lung transplant at Nationwide Children’s. The CF team was instrumental in getting that department set up at NCH, and I was so glad. It meant that I could stay here, in my hometown, and not have to travel to Cleveland or St. Louis for months while I waited for a transplant. My parents could stay here with my siblings, and I could get the care I needed. The lung transplant team is just as amazingly dedicated as the CF team.

I spent a lot of time with the CF nurses in the hospital, and they knew I loved to watch Jeopardy every night when I was admitted. So it was a lot of fun to tell them that I was going to be a contestant on the show in July of 2016. I’d gone from watching the show in the hospital to actually being on TV–it was sort of surreal. But there’s no way I would’ve been there without the incredible hard work of the people at Children’s: not just in pulmonary, but in the ED, interventional radiology, radiology, cardiology, ICU and CICU nurses, surgery, and the nurses on the transplant floor. It takes so many people to keep me alive! But I completely trust and rely on my team at Children’s. I can’t think of a better health care facility, or better staff.

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• Name: Emily D.Emily DeArdo
• Condition(s): Cystic Fibrosis
• Age at Treatment: 11
• Age Today: 04/09/198242 Years

I was 11 years old when I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, and at the time, I honestly had no idea what it was or what I meant. The CF team at Children’s did a fantastic job teaching us about the disease, and making sure I knew about therapies and meds, but they always made me feel like a regular kid. I had no idea how close I’d get to them over the next 21 years.

The CF team is like a part of my family. The intense dedication shown by the entire clinic, day in and day out, saved my life more than once. Dr. McCoy was my main pulmonologist, and without her, I know I wouldn’t be here right now. The entire team is just so special and so dedicated to giving the best possible care to every patient.

In 2005, I received the first double-lung transplant at Nationwide Children’s. The CF team was instrumental in getting that department set up at NCH, and I was so glad. It meant that I could stay here, in my hometown, and not have to travel to Cleveland or St. Louis for months while I waited for a transplant. My parents could stay here with my siblings, and I could get the care I needed. The lung transplant team is just as amazingly dedicated as the CF team.

I spent a lot of time with the CF nurses in the hospital, and they knew I loved to watch Jeopardy every night when I was admitted. So it was a lot of fun to tell them that I was going to be a contestant on the show in July of 2016. I’d gone from watching the show in the hospital to actually being on TV–it was sort of surreal. But there’s no way I would’ve been there without the incredible hard work of the people at Children’s: not just in pulmonary, but in the ED, interventional radiology, radiology, cardiology, ICU and CICU nurses, surgery, and the nurses on the transplant floor. It takes so many people to keep me alive! But I completely trust and rely on my team at Children’s. I can’t think of a better health care facility, or better staff.