Featured Blogger: Josh of "Welcome to Joshland"

Josh and Moganko

Keep an eye on the CF Blogroll over the next few months! On the first and third Tuesday of every month, we will be featuring a different blogger from our blogroll. Because May is Cystic Fibrosis awareness month, we will kick of our Featured Blogger series with a new feature every Tuesday during the month of May!

If you'd like to be a Featured Blogger, leave a comment or e-mail beingcindybaldwin AT gmail DOT com, and we'd love to feature you! Don't forget to include your e-mail address so that I can send you a list of interview questions. (Currently, I am posting the interviews in the order that I receive them, so don't be worried if it takes a few weeks for your interview to go up.)

Today's Featured Blogger is Josh of Welcome to Joshland. Josh (and his Muppet, Moganko) is a well-known figure in the online CF community, and almost everyone I've interviewed so far lists his blog as one of their favorites! In addition to his hilarious videos about CF featuring Moganko (which are especially helpful for kids with CF!), Josh writes thoughtful, insightful posts about life with cystic fibrosis and everything it entails. Be sure to check out his blog and see for yourself!

First, tell me a little bit about yourself! (How old are you, are you married, do you have any kids, do you work, etc.)

I'm 33, I'm married to my wife Carly and we have two rambunctious little pooches. I write this blog, create videos with my puppet Moganko and volunteer for a few different organizations CF related and otherwise.

How old were you when you were diagnosed with CF? What led to your diagnosis?

I was diagnosed at birth because my older sister had already been diagnosed when she was 6 months old.

What kind of effect has CF had on your life?

This disease has played a major part in shaping who I am as a person. When Angie (my sister) died, it had a profound affect on the way I looked at the world, especially since I saw the worst that this disease could dish out. CF scares me and I'm not afraid to admit it.

At the same time, I realized that I wanted to do as much as I could with my life and I knew that even though CF was going to make things more difficult, I had to try my best every single day. When I look back on my life, I want to be able to say I tried as hard as I could and did my best to succeed. Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn't, but at least I gave it my best effort.

When did you start blogging? What led you to start blogging?

I started blogging in 2009 after I wrote something on Facebook and people really enjoyed it. Then I decided to write pieces of my life story on there for my friends and family to read. It was never meant to be anything more than that. All of a sudden, people in the CF Community found my blog and started reading it. It's been a great joy in my life.

What is your favorite post you've ever written?

I don't know. I like the stories about my sister, my Angie stories, and I really like the stories that have nothing to do with CF because I don't think of it as only a CF blog, even though it definitely has strong and important posts about that. To me "Welcome to Joshland" is a story about a guy who wants to make sure he spends his life making people happy and being completely honest about his life with CF and otherwise.

Of course, doing the puppet stuff with Moganko has been pretty fun too. If you have a little one with CF, I encourage you to check out my videos made for CF kids of all ages that teach the importance of maintaining CF healthcare routines through love, honest and humor.

Moganko for CF Awareness

What are a few of YOUR favorite CF blogs? (They don't have to be on the blogroll.)

Oh man, they are all so different! From a writing perspective, I really enjoy the Unknown Cystic. He has a knack for writing funny (sometimes dark but often light), thought provoking and painfully honest posts.

What would be your #1 piece of advice to others with CF?

Just hang in there.

Be peaceful.

Don't let anyone judge you for the way you live your life with CF because they aren't walking in your shoes. We all have our own journey and there is no blue print.

Be supportive of others and eliminate the negatives that surround your life as much as you possibly can. Life is too short for that.

Never forget that you have a gift to give to the world. You just have to figure out what that is and put your heart and soul into it.

Never listen to fortune cookies. They are pre-printed. ;)