As a cystic fibrosis (CF) patient and bilateral lung transplant recipient, here is a list of factors and considerations that we must take into account:

• Can I carry a child (as a woman)?
• Can I carry a child (as a CF patient)?
• Can I carry a child (as a bilateral lung transplant recipient)?
• Can I carry a child (as CF-related diabetic)?
• Can I carry a child (as a kidney disease patient)?
• Can I carry a child (as someone who manages at least 3 creative works simultaneously)?
• Would the baby be healthy during my pregnancy and post-birth?
• Would I be healthy during my pregnancy and post-birth?
• Where would my health need to be?
• What are the risks to baby?
• What are the risks to me?
• What are the chances of me coming to full term with a healthy baby?
• How much would surrogacy cost and would we consider this?
• How much would adoption cost and would we consider this?
• How long would it take to get pregnant, and at what point would we require medical assistance?

These questions have been answered: Yes! It is possible for a healthy woman, or a CF patient, or a transplant patient, or a diabetic, or a kidney patient, or a working lady to have a successful pregnancy. But… problem one. Once you combine all of these scenarios, it gets complicated. Problem two. There are certain transplant medications that must be stopped prior to pursuing pregnancy. I’ve tried this a couple of times. After the medication clears my system and I wait the additional (recommended) 6-8 weeks, I get sick. Then, I have to restart the medication and wait for my infection to clear. Repeat. Problem three. Only ONE doctor (in North Carolina) has allowed me to ask all of these questions without a pessimistic or judgmental narrative. Our response? Until Jared and I figure out the specifics, we decided to “throw the spaghetti at the wall” and pursue all of the ways that we could care for a child. As of right now, foster care won!