Cystic Fibrosis Workout Warrior – Abby Dwyer
When it comes to limitations for Abby Dwyer – there are none. The graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law school has achieved things most people can only dream of; all while battling cystic fibrosis.
“I would say to other people with CF, whatever you think your limitations are, you’re wrong,” “Nothing taught me that like training for the New York City Marathon.”
Dwyer not only trained for the New York City Marathon, she completed it in 2018. An amazing accomplishment for anyone, even more impressive for someone battling an insidious lung disease. The drive and commitment to success were instilled in her by her parents while growing up in Rochester, New York.
“For me, my parents always encouraged me to dream as high as I possibly could,” Dwyer also excelled in basketball during her high school career. “And that’s how I’m still living my life.”
Dwyer’s life now includes a husband and a precious three-year-old daughter named Maya. It’s very rare that women inflicted with cystic fibrosis are able to give birth to a child, But Dwyer beat the odds to have a beautiful and healthy baby girl.
“It wasn’t easy,” Dwyer as a a former immigration lawyer. “
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“A lot of women with CF have trouble with infertility. It’s not researched. It’s not documented. So you’re kind of flying by the seats of your pants and doctors don’t know what to tell you. And they’re trying to figure it out as they go along and we got incredibly lucky,” added Dwyer.
Dwyer didn’t feel so lucky when she started treatments as a child which included taking nearly 40 pills a day while going through multiple nebulizer sessions. Her parents also gave her meals that consisted of an extraordinary amount of calories just to keep weight on her.
“People with CF will tell you that they never forget that they have CF,” “Your treatment is always there, you’re medicine is always there and it’s something you’re constantly thinking about.”
Dwyer says there’s no time to feel sorry for herself because after all, there are more marathons to be run and a beautiful child to take care of. She wouldn’t let cystic fibrosis define her and stop her from writing a wonderful story.
Dwyer has authored one that is truly amazing and an inspiration to others.
For more information about The Boomer Esiason Foundation, please visit https://www.esiason.org/.
Photo Credits: Images courtesy of Abby Dwyer
