CFStrong: Dan

Living Remotely In this podcast, Dan talks about the benefits and challenges of living remotely with CF. He chats about his adventurous life with his good friend Shaun. Dan talks about the logistics of managing his health from growing up in regional Victoria, then moving to the Northern Territory after completing his studies, over to Ireland and briefly touching down in Nepal. Dan's journeys are interesting and he shares the comforting knowledge that careful planning and patient care from health professionals, in Australia and overseas, have always supported his travels. Want to learn more about Dan? Read about his adventures here Read the transcript of this podcast below: Shaun: Hi, I'm Shaun Nichols. I am 33 years old from Melbourne Australia, and I am living with cystic fibrosis. I am so excited to be hosting this podcast for the incredible new website CFStrong, where I have the amazing opportunity to talk to adults living with cystic fibrosis all across Australia. CFStrong covers the successes and challenges faced by those living with cystic fibrosis. You'll hear real first-person stories, conversations with health professionals, friends, and partners, just a heads up the guests in this episode may share their personal views about treatments and health management. Please, remember this is not medical advice, and you should always follow the advice of your clinic team regarding your health. Shaun: Sit down, plug your earphones in, make a cup and enjoy. Good afternoon, Dan Ryan, how are you? Dan: Good. Thanks, Shaun. How are you? Shaun: I'm doing really, really well. Happy 2021. Dan: Yes, you too. Thanks for inviting me along. Shaun: Of course, not a problem, so pleased to have you on. Just to first off do you want to just tell us a little bit about yourself? Dan: I'm 33 years old diagnosed with CF at I think it's just short of two years old and I currently live in Regional New South Wales on the border of New South Wales and Victoria. That's kind of given a background for me aside from a few trips here and there. This is always been home for me. I have had various stints in different places. We'll probably talk about later, but I guess that's me. Shaun: Excellent. You grew up essentially in the country in Regional Victoria. Can I ask, where did you have your admissions? Dan: The bulk of them were Wangaratta. Wangaratta Advice Hospital. Obviously, I was diagnosed at the Royal Children's you know, for people who are listening to this rural children's in Melbourne. Geographically even around New South Wales, geographically, I was closer to Melbourne. That was where the diagnosis was and that's where my specialist treatment has always resided or has always been in Melbourne. The bulk of my admissions whilst I was being treated under a pediatrician were in Wangaratta, the Wangaratta Based Hospital. Shaun: Obviously, growing up, living in, and having admissions in a regional sort of setting in a regional town, what do you think some of the benefits of living in a regional area are and if there are any, what do you think some of the challenges might be? Dan: Look, there's a lot of benefits really, to be honest, I think they probably, at least when you're young outweigh the negatives, I was fortunate enough to be like a bit of a probably an anomaly really at a Regional Hospital. There aren't many young kids with CF having you know, tuneups and two or three-week admissions in some of our smaller hospitals around the country. They're more so centered in places like big super hospitals, like The Alfred and Royal Children's. I think that meant that I probably had a lot more people taking a wider interest in my health and wellbeing. That's probably the main thing that stood out. I think it's really important though, to point out that regional hospitals probably aren't as well equipped as often the reputation goes. I think if you've got a doctor that's willing to treat you or at least a team who were willing to t...