Both Lea Faraone and Tiffany Rich, both living with CF, just on different sides of the country, join us on the podcast this week. Together, they are the Salty Cysters, a social media brand designed to spread awareness and raise money for the fight against cystic fibrosis. Tiffany is the recent recipient of a double lung transplant, so the podcast starts with her talking a little bit about that journey, while Lea touches on how they have both been able to play a role in each other’s support systems respectively.

The conversation then turns to focus on the Salty Cysters brand, how it started on Instagram and the apparel they now offer in their online store.

Finally the conversation wraps up with Tiffany and Lea talking about their relationship and the kind of special bond that can form between two people with cystic fibrosis. In many ways, they feel like Julia and I do – although they’ve never met in person they feel like they’ve known each other for years. And while they do leave the possibility open for meeting in person one day (something that I can not advocate for), they do recognize the danger of cross-infection and why that guideline exists to keep people with CF safe from infection.