Take a Breath My Life

MUSIC: Lose Yourself by Eminem

I'm Grace, and I love running.

I'm about to take part in the most important race of my life,

but I'm facing an extra challenge.

I have a lung disease called cystic fibrosis.

I'm Cerys, and I love music.

I'm preparing for the most important exam of my life.

I have cystic fibrosis too...

-And breathe out.

-SHE EXHALES

..and have my own big challenge -

to take more responsibility for my medications.

It's hard for us to do the things that other kids do.

-We have loads of treatments.

-SHE EXHALES

We sometimes spend weeks in hospital.

And we take mountains of medicine.

But we are determined not to let cystic fibrosis get in our way.

-BOTH:

-So, to prepare for the challenge of our lives...

Come on, Grace, really give it everything!

..we take a deep breath.

MUSIC: Roar by Katy Perry

This is my family -

my mum, brother and dad.

He's a runner too.

I love running because there's always something to aim for -

to get a new PB or to try and win a race.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE I've joined a running club.

We've been training really hard.

In the summer, we do track and 1,500m, 800m,

and, in the winter, we do seriously muddy cross-country, which is great.

This is my room and these are my trophies,

and I think this is the one that I'm most proud of

cos it's from the Brighton Mini Mile two years ago,

which was then.

I wasn't expecting to win it.

I had never done any running before,

and then I won and I was, like, flabbergasted,

and so, the next year, I entered it again, but I was a year older,

and therefore in a higher age group,

and came second, which I was really proud of.

This race inspired me to become a runner

and it's my last year at under-13.

I've got a lot to prove to myself.

MUSIC: Fight Song by Rachel Platten

This is the race I really want to win more than any other race.

Obviously, because of my cystic fibrosis

I have lots obstacles to overcome, but I always carry on with training

because I just don't want it to control my life.

I just want to forget about it and move on.

And...action!

I'm Cerys and I love music.

Come on, now, go to bed.

This is my mum...

A coiled spring!

..and this is my dad.

I play three instruments -

the tenor horn, the piano and the trombone -

and these are my music certificates.

Quite a lot of work has gone into all of these.

I've been playing music

since I was tiny

but I've got some big challenges ahead.

I've got my Grade Five trombone exam coming up.

Having CF, it's kind of like an extra obstacle for me to pass

because sometimes I can get out of breath quicker

playing my instruments than other people would,

especially if I'm not healthy and I'm not well.

On top of that, I've got a concert to prepare for,

and there's an added pressure.

On the concert day, I'll have to take quite a lot of medication,

and this is the very first time I'll be doing all of it on my own.

I have done bits of it before, but not for the whole day.

I kind of know what to do -

it's just that responsibility, as well.

So, as I prepare for the exam and concert...

..and I get ready for my race,

we can never escape our cystic fibrosis.

MUSIC: Pompeii by Bastille

We were born with this lung disease. You can't catch it.

People with Cystic Fibrosis - CF - look like everybody else,

even though we have a very serious condition.

It causes our bodies to create thick mucus in our lungs.

This can make it hard for us to breathe.

-HEAVY BREATHING

-It can make us sick and tired

and sometimes we have to stay in hospital.

There isn't a cure but there are lots of treatments we can do.

These treatments keep us alive.

If I'd, like, known what it was like without CF,

I'd probably feel a lot more, like, depressed all the time

but cos I, just, like... That's just how it is

and I don't really know what it's like not to have it,

it's just kind of, like, normal.

I don't like having CF, but I can't let it beat me,

and I want to life as normal a life as I can, as possible.

'There are lots of things we have to do every single day

'to fight our cystic fibrosis, including using a nebulizer.

'This machine turns my medicine into a mist

'which I breathe deep into my lungs.

'It helps loosen the mucus that's stuck inside.'

It's quite boring and repetitive.

'And that's just the start of it! Next, I do physio.

'This is a series of lung exercises that shakes up the mucus inside,

'and no, my mum's not hitting me -

'she's helping stop the mucus from settling and getting infected.'

Higher, higher. Good girl.

'By the time I've got to school,

'I've already done an hour and a half's worth of CF-related things.'

It wastes time and you can't, like, just be, like,

free like everyone else.

I'm really happy because I've done my two sessions of physio

so I won't have to do any more for today.

-Apart from this.

-SHE SCREAMS

I use nebulizers too, but my physio is a little bit different.

Well, this is my physio vest... MACHINE RUMBLES

..and, basically, it shakes a lot and it's really loud,

erm, so, erm... HER VOICE VIBRATES

..and it, basically, just, like.. getting up all the mucus

and stopping it from settling right at the bottom of my lungs.

It's really weird, and if I have it after I've eaten,

it makes me feel a bit sick, obviously.

I have to do it twice a day, normally for about 25 minutes.

It kind of, erm, aches,

and it makes your back a bit achy and stuff after a while.

I have to do some treatment before school

and then some after school, and it means I have to get up quite early.

It's quite hard to fit around homework and things.

We depend on a lot of other medicines too.

And this is my medicine cupboard.

# Yeah-eah-eah-eah Yo... #

This is my Salbutamol inhaler.

This one's my Creon tablets.

This is Gaviscon...

These are my Azithromycin tablets.

-..my Movicol...

-Salt tablets.

..antibiotics...

Omeprazole tablets.

..and this is my Montelukast...

Vitamin E tablets.

..and this is my other antibiotics.

Vitamin A and D capsules.

This is my Domperidome...

That goes in the nebulizer.

..and this is probably the biggest pill I have to take,

and it absolutely stinks.

The one I dislike the most is this one, which is my salt neb.

It makes me gag and cough a lot whilst I'm having my physio,

so I don't really like that.

That's about 2,700 pills a month between both of us.

Playing my brass instruments is like a treatment for my CF as well

because when I blow into the instruments,

it can help with my lungs and help it get any yuck off my chest,

a bit like physio.

I still need to do the physio treatment, just to make sure,

but the brass does help a lot.

I love brass anyway.

I still think I'd still play it if I didn't have CF.

It's kind of lucky that playing brass instruments does help as well.

'My best friend Evie is in my orchestra too.

'She knows all about my cystic fibrosis

'and how I want to do my own treatments on concert day.'

It's, like, a really big step

because I'll have to take my nebulizer

for the first time on my own.

Would you come and help me with that?

Yeah, sure, I'll always be there for you when you need.

As a friend, I need to know, like, correctly,

what I need to do with you, because I don't want to go wrong.

Erm, well, I've learnt how to put my nebulizer together

and do all the medicine and things,

but it would be really nice if you could just supervise me

-and make sure I don't feel lonely and just chat to me.

-Yeah.

OK, I'll just make sure that you don't feel nervous

about doing it on your own.

OK, thanks.

I haven't really told anybody at my running club about CF.

I didn't really tell them

because I just didn't want to make a big thing about it

and I just didn't really want to be, like, different from everybody else.

'But, as my big race approaches, I've decided it's time to

'tell my friend and running partner, Betty,

'so we're heading out for a pizza.'

Yeah, they've got better players but...

'OK, I've got to spit it out.'

-..there's something about the way they play.

-'Here goes nothing.'

-I have a chest condition called cystic fibrosis...

-Oh.

..and, if I get a cough or something,

it can get really bad really quickly.

Then, sometimes, I have to go into hospital to get...

To have, like, more... Erm, like...

-Attention and, just, yeah...

-Yeah, like more antibiotics and things.

How did you get the condition? Were you just born with it?

Yeah, it's genetic,

so, like, if one of my parents has one of the genes...

-Oh.

-..and then my other...

and then my other parent also has it, then it's quite likely that...

-You'll... OK.

-Yeah.

'I was really, really nervous before I told Betty about CF, but'

I think it went well.

I like the way she, kind of, didn't make a big deal about it.

Like, she was curious, but it wasn't like a huge thing.

'It feels good to have told Betty about my condition,

'but the one thing I'd love to do, but can't,

'is sit and chat with someone who actually has CF -

'someone who knows what it's really like.'

It's not a good idea for two people with CF to meet

because there's a risk of cross-infection.

This means we might pass bugs to each other,

which could make us ill,

so, no matter how much we want to meet...

..cystic fibrosis will always get in the way.

'But Cerys and I have found a solution -

'we'll chat through our computers!' COMPUTER BEEPS

Here we go!

Hello.

Hi. How are you?

I'm good. How about you?

Yeah, cool.

'It's great to speak to someone dealing with the stuff as me.'

Do you have to go into, erm, hospital that much?

Erm, well, the last time was about a year ago,

a year and a bit ago.

How about you?

Erm, well, I went in just before Christmas.

Were you in hospital over Christmas, then?

Erm, no, it was just before, luckily,

so I got back from hospital

just to have the last two weeks of school

before Christmas holidays.

Do you find it hard to go on sleepovers and stuff

and, like, fitting it around, like, treatments?

Yeah, last time I went on a sleepover,

I had to do physio,

and all my friends wanted to know,

like, what it was and why I was doing it

and yeah, it's quite hard to fit it in.

Does CF make you, like, determined to do better?

I think so, yeah. What about you?

Do you think that as well?

Yeah, like, cystic fibrosis isn't going to beat me.

'After speaking with Cerys, I feel more determined than ever.'

Are you ready to go, Dad?

Yeah, I'm ready.

'Dad is helping me prepare for my big Brighton race.

'In one way, cystic fibrosis really motivates me to go running -

'it's just such great treatment for my chest.'

So, we'll down there, around there, up the steep hill,

I'll time you, and then we'll do it again and again and again,

and we've got to keep the same time all the way.

Go!

'When I'm running, especially in the longer distances,

'my CF sometimes makes my chest hurt a bit'

but, erm, I just try to make that motivate me to go faster.

Good, you're on target. Keep going.

'The faster I run, the sooner the pain will be over.'

Push it! Attack!

50, 1, 2...

Bang.

So, have a quick breather, now.

-How was it?

-It was cool.

-Chest?

-A bit tight but..

Bit tight.

-It always is.

-Yeah.

Go!

'Dad pushes me quite hard and helps me do my best...'

24, 25... On target.

Right, attack it!

'..but he's very competitive.'

She's already better than me at swimming -

she can smash me in the pool -

and there is no way, being a very competitive dad,

that I'm going to allow her to beat me on the track as well.

'But can he beat my 52 seconds?' Three, two, one, go.

'It's payback time!'

Come on, Dad. Go faster!

He's doing OK.

Faster, Dad. Come on, you're nearly there.

HE GRUNTS 54.

54.

54 seconds.

So you beat me?

Wow! That's amazing, Grace.

Rock on, Brighton. Here we come.

-BELL RINGS

-Hello, Mrs Williams, is it possible

you can send Cerys down, please?

She's got a hospital appointment this morning. Thank you.

'Today, I've got to leave school and go to the hospital for clinic.

'Every eight weeks, I meet with my team of doctors

'who check up on my CF and see how my lungs are doing.'

How are you feeling about the clinic, today, Cerys?

Erm, I'm feeling that I don't want to go.

I'll probably get bored.

'Most kids would like any excuse to get out of school,

'but I'd rather be anywhere than here.'

-So, how's the old music going? How's it going?

-Good.

So what have you got coming up?

Erm, I've got my Grade Five trombone coming up.

-Trombone?

-I thought you were doing the tenor...

-Horn.

-..horn.

-Yeah.

-And now you're doing the trombone as well?

-Yeah.

And do you think that it's helped with your chest,

-do you think, all that blowing?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

'A crucial part of my checkup is the lung function test.'

-SHE EXHALES

-'That's when they measure

'how much of lungs I'm able to use.

'A low score could be a sign of infection,

'and this could mean a stay in hospital for two weeks,

'so I'm hoping for a high score.'

Brilliant. Your lung function is excellent.

-99% predicted so...

-Oh, yay.

-Well done, Cerys.

-..really, really, really excellent lung function.

All this brass instrument playing is really helping, isn't it?

-That's the most you've ever done.

-Excellent.

-It is the biggest.

-It's the best ever. All right.

-Bye.

-Take care.

-THEY LAUGH

-Bye.

I got the highest lung function I've ever had before in my life.

'That was just the first part of my visit -

'there's always so long to wait -

'but I have ways of passing the time!'

MUSIC: Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

# Cos the players gonna play, play, play, play, play

# And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate

# Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

# I shake it off I shake if off... #

KNOCK AT DOOR

-Hello.

-THEY CHUCKLE

'Nearly busted.'

WHISTLE BLOWS 'I've been training hard

'in preparation for the Brighton race,

'but I've had a bit of a set-back.

'When I'm running, sometimes it hurts a little bit.'

It didn't use to but, recently, it kind of aches a bit,

and I feel a bit more short of breath than I did before.

Yesterday, I coughed up a bit of blood, as well,

so it will be useful to know what's causing that.

'The doctors are concerned and need to know what's going on,

'so I'm going to the hospital.

'I'm having a CT scan,

'which is a machine that can take detailed pictures of my lungs.

'The doctors can look at the images and see what's going on inside me.'

All right, that's everything.

'But I also need an operation.'

-I'm quite nervous now.

-Yeah, of course you are.

'I'm having a bronchoscopy -'

that's when they put a camera into my lungs to see what's there.

They'll even take a sample of mucus, to see if it's infected.

'Well, I feel very hungry,

'because I haven't been able to eat since 7.30,'

but, most of all, I feel quite nervous.

'This is it.'

MUSIC: Wings by Birdy

# Sunlight comes creeping in

# Illuminates our skin

# We watch the day go by

# Stories of all we did... #

How do you feel now?

Tired.

# It made me think of you... #

Want to go to sleep?

Cerys, tomorrow, you've got to do this for yourself,

-haven't you?

-Mm-hm.

'Because I'll be responsible for my own treatments on concert day,

'Mum wants to double-check that I know what I'm doing.'

-Calm. Right, Cerys, are you listening to me?

-Mm-hmm.

-So, remember you need to wash your hands first.

-Yeah.

OK, and, just, what do you do?

-Twist the top?

-Twist the top.

OK, well done. Job done.

It's quite a big responsibility and it can be a bit scary

to know that you have to deal with all of this.

I need to make sure I do it properly.

'Finally, the day I've been preparing for.'

-You've got the meds.

-Meds in there, neb in there. OK?

-Mm-hm.

Have a good time.

'On top of doing my own treatments, I have an extra challenge.

'There is another child here with CF - Samuel.

'We need to avoid each other in these busy hallways.

'If we meet, we could make each other ill.

'We have to be really careful,

'and even plan to sit on different-coloured chairs

'so we don't pass germs to each other.

'And it's my turn to rehearse.

'I'm glad Evie's here.'

-Thanks for helping me with this.

-That's OK.

'I've got to stay focused on my treatments.

'They can take ages and it's really boring.'

That's just, like, one of the first things I've got to do.

I've still got to remember all my Creon with my lunch

and things like that.

What happens if you do forget?

Erm, I'll get really bad stomach pains if I forget to have them.

'I take pills with my food

'because cystic fibrosis affects my tummy as well as my lungs.

'I have to work out how many tablets to take

'depending on the amount of fat in what I'm eating.'

So, this is, like - I don't know - about 13g of fat,

so I need one Creon for every 5g and 13 is closer to 15 than 10.

'It's an important calculation.'

I think that the reason that you're really good at maths is

because you have to do maths every single day.

You have to take pills and you have to work it out using your brain.

Do the tablets taste of anything?

Some of the medicines I have, there's, like, no coating on them,

so I put them in my mouth and they taste disgusting.

How disgusting is it?

Oh...

Well, I know this sounds a bit weird but it tastes a bit like soap

in your mouth, and it's just really weird. Oh, it's horrible.

'As part of my physiotherapy,

'we jump up and down to loosen the mucus in my lungs.'

Ha-ha-ha-ha!

Three, two, one... Ha-ha!

'I've done it! Bring on the concert.'

CHEERING

-Cerys...

-Hello, well done.

-Hello.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-Well done.

'I feel, like, more grown-up

'after doing my treatments on my own today.'

I know that I can do it on my own now

and I don't always need my parents to supervise me.

'Now I can concentrate on my exam.'

'I'm off to meet one of my favourite doctors, Dr Chin.

'He's a runner too, and we always compare times.'

-How are you?

-Cool.

Erm, and your 5K PB is not quite as quick as mine yet

but it's getting there, isn't it?

Cos I've been tracking you on Parkrun.

Erm, so tell me about the pain,

and does it hurt while you're running?

A little bit, yeah, and sometimes, after I go running,

my chest feels tighter and it does hurt more when I breathe in.

Your chest feels tighter sort of in a lung way or in a...?

-Erm, lung way.

-Yeah, OK.

-And can you give me a sniff?

-SHE EXHALES

No, in. How many times have we done this?

-Gordon Bennett! Good.

-GRACE'S MUM LAUGHS

'Dr Chin has got the results from my operation and CT scan.'

Your CT, which I'm sure you want to look at,

looks pretty good, actually.

-Does it?

-Yeah, it does.

-Oh, that's a relief.

Your chest is structurally normal.

There's nothing that I'm worried about, looking at it.

There's no great blocks of infection or anything like that.

I think we're in a good place.

I don't think we're quite on top of exactly what's happening,

but I think there are interventions to make today

that will hopefully improve things.

Is that sort of...?

Oh, very good news, yeah.

Yeah, all right, I'll leave you to it.

'The lung function was about the same as it was last time,'

which is looking good for the race in Brighton.

'So I can keep training, even if it hurts.'

SHE PLAYS: Gonna Fly Now/Rocky Theme

MUSIC FADES IN: Gonna Fly Now by Bill Conti

Keep it going. Come on, guys.

All the way, all the way, all the way!

34, 35, brilliant!

Even though I've been training hard,

I'm worried I'm just not fast enough.

Dad wants to help motivate me

by researching the recent race times of my competition.

So, look, why don't you look up that girl who beat you?

See what she's actually been doing this year.

Oh, wow, she's got 5.29 - mine's 5.45.

That was a few days ago.

-Yeah.

-She's improving, isn't she?

That's her new time.

-Wow.

-See, this isn't really helping me at all.

-Sorry, sorry.

I'm just going to do the best I can.

Yeah, that's all you can do.

Just give it everything,

-and the most important thing is to try and beat your personal best.

-OK.

'My exam day has arrived!'

'And my race day is finally here.'

I think she's feeling very nervous.

She's very quiet this morning.

She hasn't slept very well either.

Take those deep breaths, and have those positive thoughts

and you will be fine.

'It's still really early, but we're already on our way to Brighton.'

Have you got everything you need. Music?

PHONE BEEPS

'At last, we've arrived.

'The atmosphere is great and there's lots of different races going on.'

Don't be fazed by anybody, Grace. Just give it everything, OK?

-Yeah.

-Believe you can win.

-PHONE BEEPS

That early morning rain has long since disappeared

and we're getting some very fast times indeed...

-Morning.

-What piece are you going to play first?

Low C.

'I check in with Mrs Bennett, my music teacher,

'and sit and wait for my turn.

'But my nerves have got the better of me. I need some air.'

Before an exam, I always feel really sick,

and sometimes I get butterflies in my tummy and I start shaking.

-Are you all right, Cerys?

-Yeah.

-Come and tell me how you're feeling.

-Erm, nervous.

Big breaths.

OK, you're going to be great.

-You've done all the work. That's all you need to do.

-OK.

-OK, good luck.

-Thank you.

Yup, we're ready to go.

-Make sure you've got your music.

-Yep, thanks.

-All set. Shall I get the door for you?

-Oh, thanks.

So you don't bash your trombone.

MUSIC: Black Magic by Little Mix

# All the girls on the block knocking at my door

# Wanna know what it is make the boys want more... #

I've been working for so long for this -

about six minutes of running -

and it just seems crazy that I worked this hard

for six minutes of my life,

but it's a really important six minutes,

so I just hope it goes well.

'And to add to the excitement, I bump into one of my heroes -

'Olympic runner Jo Pavey.'

I understand you've got your race later today.

-Erm, yeah.

-Yeah, but...

-I'm really nervous about it.

I'd say don't be worried about it because, if you get a few nerves,

that's actually beneficial -

if you channel them in the right direction,

it actually helps you run faster.

-OK, bye, Grace. Good luck.

-Thanks.

Lovely to meet you, and I hope you have a really good run.

-You too.

-Yeah, go for it.

-Thank you.

-GRACE PLAYS TROMBONE

-It's nervy waiting for her

but she's worked hard.

I know she can do it -

it's whether she can do it in the right place at the right time,

which is now.

-She's smiling.

-Hello.

-How was it?

OK.

'I went in and I felt really nervous and sick,'

but when I was in there I just took a deep breath

and let the nerves in and then it seemed to work.

All right, let's have your trombone.

This is the girls' under-13 in the...

'I'm insanely nervous -'

like, the most nervous I've ever been before a race, like, ever,

but, in a way, that's a good thing -

there's lots of adrenaline and things.

'And, as an added surprise, Dr Chin has come to cheer me on!'

Good luck, Grace. Believe!

'It's now or never.'

GUNSHOT AND CHEERING

MUSIC: The Nights (My Father Told Me) by Avicii

Go on, Grace!

Come on, Grace, really give it everything!

Come on, keep working! Keep working.

-Come on, Grace!

-Don't look back.

-Keep going. Look ahead, Grace.

-Keep going!

-Look ahead!

Don't look back! Push, push, push, push!

Come on, Grace!

-Go on, Grace!

-HORN HONKS

'Third place - I've got a medal!

'I finished in six minutes and 14 seconds -

'a new personal best.'

She's on the podium.

And here are the medallists - Grace Miller!

CHEERING

'Grace has done brilliantly.

'It's stressful waiting for my results.'

MUSIC: Lose Yourself by Eminem

OK, I have the results upon my person.

-You don't have to look.

-Not until Mrs Bennett pulls a face,

-then I shall know.

-Ha-ha-ha!

Oh, no.

You got...

92%.

MUSIC: Firework by Katy Perry

You need 87 to get a distinction.

Wow!

Well done! Well done.

-Ha-ha-ha!

-And that is your highest ever mark.

No way.

'My hard work has paid off, and CF didn't hold me back.'

Well done. You've done very well...

'I got the best mark I've ever got in any of my exams.'

I am, like, over the moon with my results.

CHEERING I ran my fastest time ever -

my personal best!

I feel amazing and it's such a relief that

it's, just, like, paid off.

-Well done.

-6.14.

-A personal best, well done.

-Yeah.

-GRACE AND CERYS:

-Take that, cystic fibrosis!

# Cos baby, you're a firework

# Come on Show 'em what you're worth

# Make 'em go Ah, ah, ah

# As you shoot across the sky-y-y. #

HORN HONKS