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Just Say “Yes, Sir!” to Good Health
Some young adults leave home and go to college, an event that challenges the time management skills of most people with cystic fibrosis. Pete left home and went to The Citadel, the South Carolina military university that is to colleges what muscle cars are to automobiles. This Charleston landmark institution has a 5:30 a.m. start time, grueling physical demands, and a whole lot of “shine, clean and hygiene.”
“We would go to bed at midnight and be up at 5 in the morning doing push ups, running, anything physical,” says the 23-year-old graduate of the venerable Charleston institute.
Pete originally began school in the fall of 2003, but his treatment regimen went AWOL and, by October of his freshman year, so did his health.
“I got to a point where I didn't have time to keep up with my treatments. Between not eating a lot – mostly fruits and vegetables – and getting sidetracked and not doing my treatments, my body just shut down,” says Pete.
The cadet, who grew up dreaming of a career as an aviator, was doing drills with his Citadel squad one day when uncontrollable coughing doubled him over.
An emergency trip to the doctor resulted in bad news for the freshman; he was on the brink of pneumonia. The news put a halt to his military education before it had really begun.
Back at home, and ordered to one month of bed rest by his familial drill sergeant, more commonly known as mom, Pete began the long road to recovery. The mandated recuperation period gave him plenty of time to think about what had happened in his first-year skirmish at the Citadel.
“There is no way CF is going to do this to me,” he remembers thinking, “I'm not going to let CF have its way.” That's when he began strategizing with Sgt. Mom about how to return to the 166-year-old institution successfully. The platoon of two evaluated what had happened to sabotage Pete's bid for a Citadel education. The problem seemed two-fold.
First, Pete had stored his treatment meds and his vest in the school's infirmary. That meant that each time he needed them, he had to cross the school grounds – an obstacle course rife with upper classmen just waiting for a first-year cadet to appear.
“Every time you walk across the campus at the citadel, you get yelled at and have to do push ups,” says Pete, who began avoiding the trip and missing important treatments.
Secondly, Pete's nutritional needs weren't being met while at school. The university's dedication to a low-calorie, low-fat diet was anything but CF-friendly. Rather than disclose his CF and receive what he calls “special” treatment, the then 18-year-old elected to play a little Russian roulette with his health. The plan backfired.
One year later an organized, 19-year-old Pete returned to the Citadel, ready to try again. This time the knob, the name accorded all Citadel freshman who spend their first year sporting closely-shaved heads, knew what to expect.
“I was going to have to plan my days around my treatment and eating more,” says Pete. “And I knew I was going to take a hit on my treatments that first week, so I took very good care of myself running up to the start of school.”
Pete ate lots of food and got plenty of sleep in preparation for his second attempt at college. When he arrived on campus, he came toting a refrigerator for his room in which he stored his medicine, and brought plenty of supplemental meals and nutritional bars courtesy of Sgt. Mom.
During the next four years, the young cadet marched through school in step with his fellow students. Once again he kept his CF under wraps.
“I didn't want to make it through differently than anyone else. I didn't want to get my ring and think that I'd had it easier,” says the recent graduate. “I'd rather work for what I get instead of getting it for other reasons. That's how my mom and dad raised me.”
And work he did. Pete received his class ring in October, his diploma in May, and is now ready to travel through Europe before going on to physical therapy school in 2009 -- remarkable accomplishments for a young man with CF who nearly gave up his health in pursuit of a Citadel education.
