At this point in my journey, things people say or ask about my transplant really don't bug me. I do find some things funny, especially when I mention to someone that I've had a lung transplant and the first words out of their mouths is "Oh, I'm so sorry". I always get a big smile when they say that and say something along the line of "Oh, don't be sorry, I'm still alive because of this wonderful gift". Then I get to talk about organ donation and how wonderful my donor family is.
Now when I was sick there was something I heard over and over again that did touch a nerve. When I was on supplemental oxygen, and people learned I had Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), they would often say "Oh thank goodness, at least it's not lung cancer". I would just agree, but inside I was thinking "Yeah, because there is a chance at a cure if I had lung cancer".
I'm not sure that is something I would ever be comfortable hearing, but I do understand that it is never mentioned with anything but a caring heart. I know others with IPF often hear the same thing, if you are one of these people, know that the person saying it is just ignorant of our disease and really is happy for you that you do not have the more known, horrible disease.
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