Five Feet Apart

by

Rachael Lippincott

B. cepacia is a bacteria that poses a serious threat to people with cystic fibrosis, though it typically causes no harm to healthy people. B. cepacia is completely resistant to antibiotics, and it can rapidly colonize the weakened lungs of people with cystic fibrosis. The infection is generally incurable, and it greatly reduces the (already short) expected lifespan of its host. Cystic fibrosis patients infected with B. cepacia are not eligible to receive lung transplants, because their prognosis is so poor. People with cystic fibrosis are already cautioned to always stay at least six feet from each other, but this guideline is especially important for B. cepacia infected cystic fibrosis patients due to the deadly risk of transmitting the bacteria.

B. cepacia Quotes in Five Feet Apart

The Five Feet Apart quotes below are all either spoken by B. cepacia or refer to B. cepacia. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Love and Sacrifice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2: Will Quotes

There are a lot of things that piss me off about CF, but that’s not one of them. Pretty much all guys with CF are infertile, which at least means I don’t have to worry about getting anyone pregnant and starting my own shit show of a family.

Related Characters: Will Newman (speaker), Stella Grant, Will’s Mom
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3: Stella Quotes

But walking around the hospital without a mask on? It’s no wonder he got it in the first place, pulling stunts like that. I’ve seen his type in the hospital more times than I can count. The careless, Braveheart type, rebelling in a desperate attempt to defy their diagnosis before it all comes to an end.

Related Characters: Stella Grant (speaker), Will Newman
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4: Will Quotes

Probably because for the first time in eight months, I’m a car ride away from home. Home. Where Hope and Jason are. Where my old classmates are slowly chugging their way to finals, shooting for whatever Ivy League school their parents selected for them. Where my bedroom, my freaking life, really, sits empty and unlived in.

Related Characters: Will Newman (speaker), Stella Grant, Poe
Page Number: 59
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16: Will Quotes

Cystic fibrosis will steal no more from me. From now on, I am the thief.

Related Characters: Stella Grant (speaker), Will Newman
Page Number: 172
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Five Feet Apart LitChart as a printable PDF.
Five Feet Apart PDF

B. cepacia Term Timeline in Five Feet Apart

The timeline below shows where the term B. cepacia appears in Five Feet Apart. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: Will
Risk and Consequences Theme Icon
Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope Theme Icon
...and sees that Stella is eligible for a lung transplant. Will isn’t, since he has B. cepacia which makes his disease incurable. (full context)
Chapter 6: Will 
Death, Grief, and Guilt Theme Icon
Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope Theme Icon
...and talk. Will explains that he’s at Saint Grace’s hospital for a drug trial for B. cepacia . Will recalls when he first contracted the bacteria. He was coughing a lot one... (full context)
Chapter 14: Will
Death, Grief, and Guilt Theme Icon
Risk and Consequences Theme Icon
...was a young nurse, two young cystic fibrosis patients—Trevor and Amy—fell in love. Amy had B. cepacia and, because Barb let them get close to each other, passed it on to Trevor.... (full context)
Chapter 16: Will
Love and Sacrifice Theme Icon
Death, Grief, and Guilt Theme Icon
Risk and Consequences Theme Icon
Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope Theme Icon
...Stella sends him a link to her newest video. In the video, she talks about B. cepacia . She describes the rules of being a cystic fibrosis patient with the bacteria and... (full context)
Chapter 28: Will
Risk and Consequences Theme Icon
Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope Theme Icon
Hardship and Family Dynamics Theme Icon
...CPR, and everyone is quiet, because they know this means it’s likely that Stella contracted B. cepacia . Dr. Hamid says that Will did the right thing, and that they’ll go ahead... (full context)
Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope Theme Icon
...successful. Later, Barb comes to Will’s room to tell him that Stella tested negative for B. cepacia . Will’s mom asks about Will’s tests, and Barb says that the drug trial isn’t... (full context)