"If You Want To, Do It" by Valentino Tischio

I always was under the impression that CF would limit my life,.

Well, it does, but it has also given me a strong sense of motivation.  

When I was younger, everyone told me I must be extremely careful and protect my health with my life because without it, I have nothing. I have learned this is 100% the truth and to this day I value my health as my #1 priority. Although, under this conception I always thought that there wouldn’t be much that I would be able to participate in or be able to do.  Whether it is due to cold winter months in Michigan, where almost everyone you know has the sniffles and a cough, or those blistering hot summer days where you seem to sweat as if you are a cold drink that was just pulled from the fridge. The biggest concern throughout all the seasons was CF. Everything I did related to it, baseball, soccer, playing trumpet,  hanging out with my friends, and golfing. All my interests seemed to have CF directly related to what I wanted to do.  

When I started playing trumpet, this all seemed to change for me. After playing now for 8  years, I can say that my style of playing has indeed been affected by having CF but, it allows me to play the way I am meant to play, which is from the heart. While playing throughout  high school, I never had any trouble with the technicalities of playing trumpet such as the breath support and air required. It has come to me that in my years after graduating, and  still playing the same amount, if not more, I have found it in my interest to stick to the  “sweet register”. The sweet register is where the trumpet truly shines, not too high so that if  you were sitting across the room, you would need ear plugs, and not too quiet so you  couldn’t hear the emotion in my playing. In high school, I wanted to be a high note  connoisseur, but that quickly changed when I found more emotive and mellow styles of  playing such as listening to Chet Baker and Miles Davis. 

My experience playing trumpet professionally now for the past 3 years, has instilled in me a  philosophy that although something may look and feel daunting or that it is impossible, you must try anyway, adapt and find a way to make it yours. This has given me the motivation  and drive to accomplish what I never thought I could do with this disease, and for that I am  grateful.