Breathless

Get ready for Breathless, a transformative podcast series brought to you by Cystic Fibrosis Canada and Snack Labs. Join host Jeremie Saunders as he delves into the beautiful and compelling narratives of those affected by cystic fibrosis (CF), the most prevalent fatal genetic disease in Canada.Through vivid storytelling and in-depth conversations, Breathless unveils the personal battles, emotional resilience, and groundbreaking scientific achievements within the CF community. This series offers a deep understanding of the disease, highlighting both the struggles and the remarkable spirit of those who live with it.Follow Breathless and immerse yourself in a journey of hope, courage, and inspiration, narrated through the voices of those at the heart of this challenging disease.

What if you knew from an early age that you wouldn't live as long as everyone else? How would it change the way you see money, education, relationships, or time itself? Welcome to Breathless, a series that explores the shifting landscape of Cystic Fibrosis, through the eyes of Jeremie Saunders, who has lived with the disease and the shortened life expectancy it comes with, his entire life.Breathless is a Snack Labs Production in partnership with Cystic Fibrosis CanadaHost: Jeremie SaundersProducer: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivaryEditor: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivary Sound Design: Donovan MorganMusic: Tom Fox, Donovan MorganArtwork/Design: Brian SteverFor more information on Cystic Fibrosis: https://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/Want more Snacks for your ears? https://www.wearesnack.io/

How is it that something happening at an infinitesimally small scale can impact every aspect of your day-to-day life? In episode 2 of Breathless, we'll be leaning on some of the smartest minds in Cystic Fibrosis to uncover exactly what is happening at a molecular level and how that produces life-altering, and life-shortening, consequences. We'll also explore how a new miracle medication is changing Jeremie's life, and unearthing some unexpected challenges as Jeremie realizes that he may live a lot longer than he ever thought possible.Breathless is a Snack Labs Production in partnership with Cystic Fibrosis CanadaHost: Jeremie SaundersProducer: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivaryEditor: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivarySound Design: Donovan MorganMusic: Tom Fox, Donovan MorganArtwork/Design: Brian SteverFor more information on Cystic Fibrosis:https://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/Want more Snacks for your ears?https://www.wearesnack.io/

When you think you'll die young, you look at relationships with a unique perspective. In this episode of Breathless, we'll take a look at Jeremie's thoughts on dating and marriage. He speaks with others with CF to understand more about the diverse outlooks on intimate relationships when living with a fatal genetic disease.Breathless is a Snack Labs Production in partnership with Cystic Fibrosis CanadaHost: Jeremie SaundersProducer: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivaryEditor: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivarySound Design: Donovan MorganMusic: Tom Fox, Donovan MorganArtwork/Design: Brian SteverFor more information on Cystic Fibrosis:https://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/Want more Snacks for your ears?https://www.wearesnack.io/

When Jeremie was young, he was hard on his parents. Now, he understands their perspective, recognizing that they were new parents, doing the best they could do all while grappling with the devastating news that their son likely will not live to see university. In episode 5 of Breathless, we delve into the experiences of parents with children who have Cystic Fibrosis, exploring how they navigate the emotional maze of raising a child they may outlive.Breathless is a Snack Labs Production in partnership with Cystic Fibrosis CanadaHost: Jeremie SaundersProducer: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivaryEditor: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivary Sound Design: Donovan MorganMusic: Tom Fox, Donovan MorganArtwork/Design: Brian SteverFor more information on Cystic Fibrosis: https://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/

How did we turn a disease that would kill you before your 5th birthday into one that may never kill you at all? Easy: Decades of tireless, constant and relentless advocacy by parents who refuse to accept a horrible fate for their children. In the season finale of Breathless, we hear from two of the most influential people in Cystic Fibrosis history and learn how a refusal to give up in the 1950s led us down a path to revolutionary treatment, and a fight for a cure that continues today.Breathless is a Snack Labs Production in partnership with Cystic Fibrosis CanadaHost: Jeremie SaundersProducer: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivaryEditor: Jeremie Saunders, Taylor MacGillivarySound Design: Donovan MorganMusic: Tom Fox, Donovan MorganArtwork/Design: Brian SteverFor more information on Cystic Fibrosis:https://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/Want more Snacks for your ears?https://www.wearesnack.io/

Episode Summary: The Impossible MilestonesThe Season 2 premiere of Breathless explores a biological and existential revolution. For decades, Cystic Fibrosis was defined by a "physical perimeter"—a list of things that were simply impossible. But with the advent of transformative drugs like Trikafta, those walls are vanishing.Host Jeremie opens with a visceral comparison between a 2017 spiritual "holotropic breathing" experience and the 2021 pharmaceutical miracle of his first dose of Trikafta. We then hear from elite athletes who shattered expectations long before the "miracle drug" existed, and we look at how Cystic Fibrosis Canada is pivoting its entire mission from "extending life" to supporting a life "without limits."Main Topics & Key Moments1. The Gateway to BreathingSalt Spring Island (2017): Jeremie describes a profound meditative state where, for a moment, the "heavy, wet coat" of CF was stripped away.The Blue Pill (2021): The "impossible milestone" found in a blister pack. Jeremie recounts the first morning he woke up without the "wet rattle" in his lungs, realizing his biology had been rewritten.2. The Science of the "Flow"The Broken Valve: Dr. Paul Eckford (Chief Scientific Officer, CF Canada) explains the CFTR protein.Chloride, Salt, and Water: A breakdown of why CF lungs create "concrete" mucus and how new modulators open the cellular gates to let water flow, clearing the airways.3. Shattering the Finish Line: Lisa BentleyThe Undiagnosed Athlete: Lisa won 11 Ironman championships despite having CF, including a period where she didn't even know she had the disease.The "Superpower": How meeting children with CF gave Lisa a purpose beyond winning, leading to her "lights out" fourth-place finish at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships while battling a chest infection.4. The Power of Delusion: Sophie Grace HolmesThe Two-Year Warning: At 19, Sophie was told she had two years to live. Her response? A bucket list that started with summiting Mount Kilimanjaro with 50% lung function.36 Marathons in 36 Days: Sophie’s journey from a nationally ranked sprinter to an ultra-endurance icon, and her shock at how "easy" running became after Trikafta boosted her lung function to 110%.5. The Existential WhiplashFrom Pediatric to Geriatric: Kelly Grover (CEO, CF Canada) discusses the challenge of pivoting a non-profit toward supporting adult needs like housing, nutrition, and retirement.The Paradox of Progress: Why mental health challenges (anxiety and depression) are intensifying even as physical health improves. Jeremie describes the "existential whiplash" of having to plan for a future he never expected to have.Key Quotes"Trikafta didn't just open my airways; it dismantled the perimeter. The walls I spent thirty years banging against have simply… vanished." — Host"I am going to be the best sick person on that start line. And what I might lack in lung health, I'm going to make up for in heart." — Lisa Bentley"I didn't even realize I was struggling my whole life because I didn't have the opportunity to actually feel what it's like to actually breathe properly." — Sophie Grace Holmes"I might have a bit of a freakout if all of a sudden the world was my oyster with no restrictions on it." — Kelly Grover

What happens when a miracle drug gives you back your future, but your mind is still built for a shorter life?In this moving episode of Breathless, host Jeremie and guests dive into the "mental health fallout" of growing up with Cystic Fibrosis. For decades, the CF community focused on one goal: survival. But with the arrival of Trikafta, many are facing a new, unexpected existential crisis. We explore the architecture of growing up sick, the trauma of living with an "expiration date," and the difficult reckoning that occurs when the horizon of your life suddenly shifts from years to decades.Featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Jodi Carrington, CF advocate Lauren Clift, and CF Canada CEO Kelly Grover, this episode pulls back the curtain on the psychological complexity of being "saved" and the urgent need to invest in the mind with the same intensity we’ve invested in the lungs.Main Topics & Key Moments1. The Architecture of Growing Up SickThe Parental Mask: Jeremie reflects on his parents’ stoicism and the realization that their strength often involved "shattering" out of his sight."What Happened Here?" vs. "What’s Wrong Here?": Dr. Jodi Carrington explains how reframing the conversation from pathology to experience creates the empathy necessary for healing.The Inside of Trauma: Why trauma isn't defined by the diagnosis itself, but by how the story unfolds within the family and community.2. Living with an Expiration DateThe Body Keeps Score: Lauren Clift shares her journey of middle-school anxiety attacks and the subconscious ways she absorbed the fragility of her life.Financial & Life Planning: Jeremie discusses the "freedom" of having no foundation—spending every dollar and avoiding long-term plans because tomorrow wasn't guaranteed.The Identity Crisis: What happens when the "honeymoon phase" of a new drug ends and you realize your entire identity was built around dying young?3. The Trikafta ReckoningSurvivor's Guilt: Addressing the "cruel math" where 90% of the community benefits from Trikafta while 10% are left waiting, and the heavy emotional weight carried by those who received the miracle.The Hospital Visit Realization: Jeremie recounts the moment a nurse suggested a psychologist and a friend’s simple acknowledgment—"That must be really hard"—broke the emotional floodgates.4. What Do We Do Now?CF Canada’s Mental Health Focus: Kelly Grover discusses Peer Connect, a pilot program designed to help patients, dads, and caregivers "say the unsayable" together.The Optimal Human Operating System: Dr. Carrington outlines the four pillars needed for post-traumatic growth: Attachment, Regulation, Community, and Role/Purpose.Key Quotes"When a miracle drug gives you back your future, you still have to figure out what to do with a mind that was built for a much shorter life." — Host"Trauma has nothing to do with what happened to you. It's all about what happens inside of you." — Dr. Jodi Carrington"The scary part isn't thinking about me dying. The scary part is that other people think I'm dying. I'm trying to process the feelings of... I could have died." — Lauren Clift"We have invested billions of dollars into the biology... but the mind? The mind is still catching up. If we don't invest in that frontier... we will lose people not to their lungs, but to their loneliness." — Host