After two years of aggressive treatment I got the call from my dr today that I beat nontuberculosis mycobacterium abscesses

All growing up I was very healthy I had over 100% fev1% then I got to high school and I started getting sicker. I blew all of the veins in both of my arms from picc lines and had around 9 sinus surgeries and 10 bronchoscopies in high school. Eventually I got my port so I could do long term general ivs at home. In pediatrics mac showed up on my throat swab and my clinic thought it was cross contamination. I transferred to the adult clinic in 2017 and I was still showing mac in my cultures. It was such a small amount however we did not start treatment for a while. After being in the hospital almost every three months for five years and having no diagnoses and just being told my cf “is just bad” I started to give up. I got rhino virus and corona virus at the same time and consistently had a high fever. My lung function went from 60% to 21% and I was very accepting of death because I was exhausted and constantly in pain. I again cultured mac and my cf dr. decided she wanted to treat it. I don’t like my clinic, so we got a second opinion and went to Tyler, Texas and worked with Dr. Philley. We treated Mac very aggressively. The ivs destroyed me I have never felt worse than I did with untreated mac when I was actively treating it. Most of the treatment is a blur because it becomes a routine you must do, but I remember feeling weighed down. Every treatment made me want to vomit or actually vomit. I was constant dizzy and I always felt like there was 1,000 pounds holding me down. The treatment was absolutely a feel worse before you feel better situation. Mentally and was the most depressed I have ever been it was one of my hardest periods in life. After iv antibiotics I did oral antibiotics for a year and a half. That sucked even more, it destroyed my gut health and I still felt just as bad at I did on ivs. Throughout this entire period my family was supporting me, but I did not want my family to be responsible for my treatments. What if they failed and I died? I didn’t want my parents to feel responsible so I opted to do it all myself while in undergraduate. College and Mac and hospitalizations where my professors think I’m lying about being sick was/is one of the most annoying and draining experiences. Eventually I stopped treatment after 2 years and we waited a few months to see how I would do without medication. I felt like my lungs were empty. Fast forward to now, I’m on Trikafta and I got the call from my doctor today that my lungs are COMPLETELY CLEAR. I cultured absolutely nothing from my last bronchoscopy. My lung function is 80% and I am RUNNING FOR FUN. I never thought this day would come. I beat Mac. When I turned 21 I barely blew out my birthday candles and now I’m about to be 22 and I can take a deep breath. I am about to graduate undergrad and I am applying to grad school. Treating mac was absolutely terrible and the hardest treatment I have ever done but it was 100% worth it and if I had to do it again I would.

Today is a good day.

Edit: thank you for the awards y’all are so kind