Because every breath counts

I wake up from Markus coughing. I'm used to it, and usually it doesn't wake me up for a long time. But this time it sounds different than usual, harder, more barking. He can hardly breathe in between.

«Markus,» I ask him, «is there anything I can do for you?»

I can't get an answer. The cough sounds agonizing and gets worse and worse.

The twins are sleeping in the room next door. I listen to them over there, everything stays quiet. But next to me, Markus is struggling for breath between the cough attacks. I'm beginning to get worried.

We are in my family's holiday home in Italy, and I should be able to relax during this holiday. I work as a deputy ward manager in oncology, and the past few weeks have been really exhausting. In addition to my fifty percent position, I organize our household, take care of everything with the nanny who looks after the two-and-a-half-year-old girls during my absence. I'll relieve Markus as much as I can. Markus suffers from the congenital metabolic disorder cystic fibrosis and is not very resilient due to the accompanying symptoms of this disease(...)