Kay Wharton

Go to Kay's May 2011 podcast with BEF's Jerry Cahill.

Kay's Story

Growing up as a child, I was the only one with a full size Kleenex box on my desk,but that did not phase me. I just thought I got sick a lot, and I had asthma. That was not the case, and I found out at the age of 21 that I had cystic fibrosis. Not only was I diagnosed with CF, but my sister was diagnosed at the same time at the age of 29. We were two of four girls - myself being the youngest of the four - and we were the only two with CF.

By the time I was diagnosed, I had already made it through my childhood years, and I was very lucky to be as healthy as I was without being treated for all those years. In school, I participated in track, partly because it was the only non-cut team! I believe that running track for the years that I did helped in the clearing of my lungs, as I coughed a great deal. After high school, I went on to college at Purdue University. This was a family tradition, and everyone in my family attended Purdue as well. I studied Industrial Illustration Technology in college, and after several jobs and lots of experience, I started my own business in print and web design (www.Wharton-graphics.com), and I am able to work from home.

Kay on Family, and the Future

Not only have I been lucky enough to have a successful career, I was also blessed with a wonderful family. I have been married to my husband, Randy, for 22 years, and we have a beautiful 20-year-old daughter, Ashley, who is attending the University of Missouri - Columbia. My husband has been such a positive influence on my life, and both he and my daughter are into exercising and will be running a half-marathon soon. Exercising has gotten tough for me, as I recently started using an oxygen tank, but I hopefully see myself participating in a 10K down the road! I would say that my biggest accomplishment was completing a triathlon.

I am very thankful that growing up I never knew the life expectancy of having CF, because I never had a number in my head to hold me back from what I wanted to do. I always say, “Health isn’t just the absence of disease; it is a combination of mental, physical and social well-being…you can be a healthy Cf’er!” Life with CF is what you make of it, each day is a blessing and you have to take it one step at a time. My first goal was to see Ashley graduate high school, then it was seeing her graduate college, and I am so thrilled to say that I now need another new goal ...