Alumna Gina Ruiz ’19 Promotes Mask Wearing to Help All

Alumna Gina Ruiz ’19 recently wrote an article for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Community Blog highlighting the importance of wearing a mask to keep all safe. Gina is living with cystic fibrosis and was familiar with wearing a mask in public spaces before the coronavirus pandemic made it a norm for all. Her post notes, “It’s troubling that many people without chronic illness feel wearing a mask is too much of an inconvenience for them.” Additionally, she wrote, “It almost felt like an ironic fresh breath of air; everyone will finally know what it’s like to be stared at when wearing a mask. I’m not alone! Something so small — that had always triggered me when I wore one — quickly became a social norm” when referring to wearing a mask in public.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. It is a genetic disease, and people with CF have inherited two copies of the defective CF gene — one copy from each parent. Both parents must have at least one copy of the defective gene. CF is a complex disease and the types and severity of symptoms can differ widely from person to person. Many different factors, such as the age of diagnosis, can affect an individual’s health and the course of the disease.

Gina earned a bachelor’s degree in childhood education. Read the full, original post at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.