Tiffany Christensen has lived with dying since she was 6months old, when she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic illness that primarily affected her lungs. She didn’t really get to vote on pondering her mortality; during the course of two terminal illnesses, she had little choice in the matter. Yet now, after two life-saving lung transplants, she looks forward to the dying she has to do in the future. Join us for a glimpse into her experience as a twice-terminal patient who dared to travel beyond the walls of her spiritual comfort zone and hear her share the peace that came with having “one foot on the other side.”

After a sickly childhood, Tiffany became acquainted with in-patient hospital care when she was 12. At 23, she was placed on the list for a double lung transplant at UNC Memorial Hospital. After a long and difficult 5-year wait, during which her lung function dropped to 18% capacity, she received her first set of donor lungs in April of 2000. In May of 2002, she was diagnosed with chronic rejection, and once again she grew gravely ill. Her lung function dropped to 10% of capacity and she was told she only had months to live.

As her outer body weakened, her inner journey opened and she found unexpected gifts of insight, perspective, humor, and strength. She began to know an inner peace she had never thought possible. Raised in a conservative Christian home, she went seeking a more inclusive spiritual outlook, embracing many traditions from shamanic journeying to Buddhism. Eventually, her road brought her back to her roots with a deep acceptance of her personal worth. Today, she uses all of the various traditions she has explored as her life’s compass.

A series of wonderful and unusual events enabled Tiffany to receive a rarely performed second lung transplant just in the nick of time. After the surgery, she awoke with a clear awareness of being “called” to work with those touched by illness and death. As soon as her recovery allowed, she trained as a hospice volunteer and began developing her talks and workshops.

Since 2005, Tiffany has participated in many speaking events, enjoyed coaching those in the medical maze, and finished her book, Sick Girl Speaks! In January of 2008, Sick Girl Speaks Inc. was created and she began working withProject Compassion with a year long grant. Throughout 2008, she will lead workshops on patient advocacy, advance directives, and organ and tissue donation. She’ll be published in various newsletters and magazines including Boom!, CFRoundtable, and Airways; and she’ll appear on the popular national NPR radio show, “The People's Pharmacy.” DukeContinuing Studies will host her workshop, “10 Opportunities of Illness.” These and many other exciting projects are the beginning of a promising new voice in the medical community. Learn more about Tiffany and her work at www.SickGirlSpeaks.com.

Tiffany’s story is for every human who will someday cease to be (that's all of us!)—a story of dying that will inspire you to find the divine in living each day. After a lifetime of difficulty and victories, this illness warrior has emerged with insight, clarity, and purpose. Through her talks, her book, and the way she lives her life, this “sick girl” is ready to speak! “There are many kinds of healing, and dying is merely one of them,” she says. We invite you to listen to her story and allow her journey to inspire you to live your best life

This Month's Angel Door Prize
A hardcopy edition of Sick Girl Speaks.
Copies of Tiffany’s book will also be available for sale.