My name Is Tori Taskas, I’m 26 from Toronto, and I have Cystic Fibrosis.
CF is a genetic disease that mainly affects the lungs and digestive system. A mutation in my DNA causes the mucus that lines my organs to become thicker and stickier. In the lungs, the mucus clogs my airways and creates an exceptional breeding ground for bacterial infections that make me very ill. If you saw me in my everyday life you would think I’m just a normal full-time student. I like to go out and have fun with my friends, I love to sing and play music, and I do everything I can to enjoy life to the fullest. What most people don’t see is all the hard work I put in behind the scenes to stay healthy every day. Each day I take up to 20 pills, do inhaled therapies, administer injections, and do physiotherapy twice a day. But it wasn’t always this way.
Growing up I had a pretty normal childhood with only a few treatments to do, and I never felt sick. It wasn’t until I was 13 that my health started to suffer and I was diagnosed with CF-related diabetes. On top of all my CF medications and therapy I now had to add checking my blood sugars and taking insulin injections to my already long list of treatments. To make things worse, I also started to be hospitalized every year for lung infections. I would spend a few weeks in the hospital on IV and then come back to school on a portable IV because I didn’t want to fall behind. It was hard, but I was ambitious about my future and I wasn’t going to let an infection stop me from getting a good grade.
It was at the age of 22 that my life changed completely; I needed a liver transplant. While rarer in CF patients, liver complications can happen. I am so lucky and forever grateful to my best friend Tyler Langos, who immediately started the application to be a donor the day I reached out to my friends about the situation. Not once did he second-guess his decision and in January 2021 we both went under the knife for an extremely difficult 12+ hour procedure. The transplant was a success, but the surgery left me with many other complications. It’s now been over two years since the transplant and I have been sick or in the hospital upwards of 15 times. There were many times where I felt like I didn’t have the strength to carry on. Where I was so weak, I couldn’t get out of my hospital bed for weeks. Where I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even speak. And as I sit here and reflect about everything I’ve gone through; I can’t believe the things that I have accomplished despite it all.
I am proud to say that I got into and completed my first year of veterinary school, something I’ve been working towards for 7 years. But I want to be clear, CF has not made any of this easy. I completed my vet school interview from my hospital room after being in the ICU all night. During my first year of school alone, I was on IV antibiotics 4 times. Every time I have to come in for treatment I am devastated. It means putting my life on hold for weeks so that I can get better. But I still have hope that one day there will be a cure for me and everyone affected by this debilitating disease. I hope for a future where people with Cystic Fibrosis see relief of their symptoms and new children born with CF never have to face the hardships I have. Thank you for supporting Kiss CF Goodbye and contributing to making that future a reality.
Rock and Roll Over is a Canadian KISS tribute band out of Toronto, Ontario. Rock and Roll Over is an era specific Kiss tribute band capturing the experience of mid 1970’s KISS show including theatrics, authentic equipment, costumes and set list. Rock and Roll Over are gaining recognition for their desire to bring the big show no matter where they play. They recently trucked 30 hours to Saskatoon just so they could bring their stage show to 3,000 people at radio station Rock 102’s Spring Invasion.