I’ve chosen 10 photos to sum up 2023 – living, working, playing, battling & ultimately finding joy despite my health challenges with cystic fibrosis (CF)* 7 diabetes. This is my year thru a lens… February, as I posted about in ‘Never give up‘, I was voted plater of the match for my field hockey team in a 4-4 draw against our rivals Wimbledon. This still means the world to me as Felix was also playing, and proves it’s crucial to hold on when things are tough as better days are often only around the corner. March. On the 17th, I celebrated 52 years with my twin bro Jez! Each birthday feels ..read more

What’s the most important task you achieve every day? Mine quite literally saves my life. Find out more… There’s a saying that if you can achieve the ‘most important task’ by early morning, than the rest of your day will flow with less issues. My most important task is definitely taking my new cystic Fibrosis (CF)* medication Kaftrio, which I tend to take around 9am every day with my breakfast. It’s best to take these tablets with extra fat to aid their absorption and enable the benefits to my lungs. My second chance 3rd year anniversary I’ve now been taking Kaftrio for over three years which ..read more

Something happened last weekend that defied belief & proved to me that it’s important to never give up… I have previously shared on this blog that due to the health improvements I’ve gained from taking the new cystic fibrosis (CF)* drug Kaftrio, I’m back playing field hockey for Merton Hockey Club in London. Not only that, but I’m lucky to be able to play in the same team as my 15 year old son, Felix. He plays up front & I play in defence as I don’t really have enough lung function for longer bursts of running in midfield. As a defender, I can utilise some of my latent ability which th ..read more

My first ever Postcards from Earth vlog explaining what the new CF wonder drug Kaftrio has meant to the quality of my life, and my hopes for those who are not able to benefit from it… Filmed Autumn 2022 on the 2 year anniversary of starting Kaftrio I’ll keep you posted on all the trials and tribulations this coming year as I make the most of the most precious gift of improved health and well-being. Yours cup half full, Tim ..read more

I reflect on another year defying the odds with cystic fibrosis (CF)* and the one gift I wanted more than anything, that until recently, proved the most elusive… My ask of Santa I’m extremely low maintenance as far as the receipt of festive gifts. For 49 years, the ultimate present would be to reduce my suffering in the form of a new medication. There are not many people who have ‘new medication’ at the top of their list from Santa?! I appreciate all presents, but all I ever wanted was the precious gift of improved health. To be honest, if a wonderful new drug was gift-wrapped and left under t ..read more

I recently had an article titled ‘Winning at the workplace with cystic fibrosis’ (CF)* published on pharmaceutical TEVA’s website. In the article I posed this pertinent question… Why have I pretty much hidden away my condition, my big survival achievement and my most meaningful attributes in the workplace in order to get on? People with CF are some of the most resilient I know and that counts for a lot in the outside world, especially at work, where we don’t sweat the small stuff, are determined to deliver and want to make each day count.   CF has forced me to live each day with ..read more

It’s powerful when you meet people who could transform your health and thousands like me with the chronic condition cystic fibrosis (CF)*… I recently presented about my survival story and health challenges to US-based ReCode Therapeutics. They are a genetic medicines company in Northern California, that is developing a new type of therapy for rare lung diseases like CF. ReCode’s technology enables precise delivery of large molecules such as mRNA so that the needed CFTR protein can be made in the right cells in the lungs. Recode’s first program for CF is expected to deliver this genetic me ..read more

Catching Covid as someone who is clinically vulnerable with cystic fibrosis (CF)* was always a huge worry. Well, now it’s happened… My family and especially my wife (who is a senior nurse) have worked very hard to avoid getting it up to now because of the obvious ramifications for my health. This was especially tricky when our son Felix had Covid during the 2021 Christmas period. Sadly, I was aware of people with CF who have died after getting the virus, so the specter of catching it hangs over the CF community. Personally, I had many questions swirling around my head… How much of the viral lo ..read more

Occasionally something will come from leftfield, stop you in your tracks and cause deep emotion and reflection. I had one such moment recently which I want to share with you… I was in St. James Park, London, relaxing in the autumnal sunshine during a break from work, when I noticed on a Facebook forum a trailer for a film documentary about the amazing Mallory Smith, who lived life to the fullest while battling cystic fibrosis (CF)*. Before she died, aged only 25, Mallory gave her mum the password to her video journals chronicling how she felt during her life-long struggle with t ..read more

It’s been a year since I started the cystic fibrosis (CF)* wonder drug Kaftrio and a lot has changed for the better… Here’s my Top 10 list of positive changes: I have more energy and have gained some weight. I rarely cough at all now compared to previously coughing most of the day and night. I don’t suffer from the habitual choking episodes at night, where I felt close to never catching my breath! I have not needed an Intravenous (IV) session to re-boot my lungs and remove chronic infection since February 2020 and it’s not even on my radar to even need such a treatment. I have reduced some of ..read more