• Our Mission

    Our Mission

    Our mission at PCD Smiles is to bring smiles to hospitalized primary ciliary dyskinesia, no mater their age; through the gift of a cheer package. Currently serving only The United States and Canada.
  • Request Cheer Package

    Request Cheer Package

    Know of a hospitalized primary ciliary dyskinesia patient? Please visit our “Request a Cheer Package” link and fill out our secured form to submit them for a cheer package today!
  • Donations

    Donations

    Our cheer package program runs on donations. To see how you can help PCD Smiles, visit our donations section today!
  • The PCD Artist Project is a collaborative effort by artist to raise awareness for PCD & support the PCD Smiles cheer package program. Visit our exhibits today!
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  • Nasal Washes, Yay or Nay?

    Nasal Washes, Yay or Nay?

    Are you Team Yay or Team Nay when it comes to nasal washes for you or your loved one with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD)? Nasal washes are an integral component to PCD care, or rather they could...
  • Disordered Sleeping and Sleep Disturbances in PCD

    Disordered Sleeping and Sleep Disturbances in PCD

    Disordered sleeping and sleep disturbances are more common in PCD than once thought. It’s not surprising given that you need to be able to breathe properly in order to sleep properly. Sleep related...
  • Can I live a Holistic Lifestyle with PCD?

    Can I live a Holistic Lifestyle with PCD?

    There are no studies into holistic lifestyle alongside a primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) diagnosis. There are however a few antidotal reports from the PCD patient population where patients have...
  • PCD Awareness Month a Necessary Evil?

    PCD Awareness Month a Necessary Evil?

    We are a little less than two weeks away from another PCD Awareness Month. I’m just not feeling it this year. It seems to get a little more difficult each year, and I am not sure why it gets more...

Dear Smile E.,

My spouse has a very hectic medication and treatment schedule. So they get tired and choose not to do their treatments. Or sometimes they don’t want to be a “bother”… How hard should I push for them to do them? Or should I even say anything?

Signed,

Worrying For My Love

Dear Worrying For My Love,

To be perfectly honest I’ve been there; I am there some days. As a PCD patient myself sometimes it’s very easy to just say I’m done, I need a break. And some days that’s okay, and some days it is not okay. In our world where we have little or no control over this beast called PCD, it is kind of liberating to say, “Nope not today PCD, I’m done.” Other times PCD seems inconvenient and it just gets in the way of things we’d rather be doing. Then there are the days that we absolutely too tired to move, and the effort to get our treatments or whatever ready to do seems too insurmountable to even attempt them. Being able to have some say over if we do our treatments makes us feel in control of an uncontrollable situation. I’m not saying it’s right or it’s wrong, it is what it is.

There is no magic answer to your question. Yes a gentle reminder maybe helpful, but constant nagging will only make you both miserable. However there does come a time where you need to sit down and have a real conversation with each other. Share your fears of the future with your spouse because of their skipping of treatments. Ask your spouse what you can do to help them navigate their hectic schedule. It might be something simple as helping them set up their machine in the morning while they are showering or what not. Or maybe they need help remembering to actually take time to do the treatments. Sometimes we all get busy, PCD or not, and forget to do something; we’ve all forgotten to eat before during an extremely busy day. Sometimes as patients ourselves we forget how our decisions to skip our treatments can impact others. Open and honest communication is always a great first step in navigating the journey with PCD.

Yours Truly,

Smile E. Turtle

 

Do you have a question for Smile E.?

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And tune in next Sunday to read the latest Ask Smile E. 

Join our Facebook group Turtle Talk Café today, click here.

We have several ways that you can donate to PCD Smiles;

- Visit Smile E. Turtle's Amazon Wishlist

- For more information on how you can donate, please visit our "Donation" page to check out our "Do & Don't policies.

- Or sponsor a PCD Smiles cheer package today!

- To shop for your “Official” turtle care ribbon gear today, visit PCD Style or Smile E. Cove

Thank you for your consideration!

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