Friday the 13th is lucky for Chloe Higgenbotham

A Lucky Diagnosis on Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky. But for today’s guest, it may have been one of the luckiest days of her life.

Chloe was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis just 13 days after she was born, on Friday the 13th. That diagnosis would shape nearly every chapter of her life: growing up with CF in the late 1990s and early 2000s, struggling with treatment adherence, becoming a wife and mother, discovering the life-changing impact of Trikafta, and navigating some of the darkest moments of her mental health.

But there’s another side to that diagnosis.

CF brought challenges, but it also brought people into her life who fought fiercely for her—including her mom, who was her greatest advocate. It brought her to a husband who stood beside her through illness and mental health struggles. And ultimately, it became part of a story that includes two children, a family she loves deeply, and a determination to keep moving forward even after unimaginable loss.

This year, she lost her mom to stage 4 colon and lung cancer. At the same time, she was fighting her own battle with severe depression, hospitalization and psychosis. Watching her mother die was an experience she never expected—and one she says left her carrying PTSD and grief that she is still learning to navigate.

Today, she is working her way back. She’s receiving Spravato treatments, beginning to feel stronger mentally, and trying to navigate the financial challenges that remain.

And through all of it, she holds onto one simple truth: she is still breathing, and her children are happy and healthy.

So maybe Friday the 13th isn't so unlucky after all.

Today, we're talking about CF, treatment, love, motherhood, grief, mental health, resilience—and finding a reason to keep going.

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