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It's approaching quickly....OUR NEXT CFF GREATSTRIDES WALK WILL BE HELD MAY 2, 2009 AT THE SACRAMENTO CAPITOL, West Steps! PLEASE JOIN US at 8:30AM!
Our sweet, innocent baby, Faith, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) on March 18, 2005 – at the tiny age of 2 weeks. Since that day our family has slowly & carefully adjusted to living with this disease, although we battle it daily in our hearts, mind & spirit as the constant reminders with each treatment pass. Please take a few moments and look back to Faith's first video made in 2006....
Cystic Fibrosis is a DEVASTATING genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 children & adults in the United States. A defective gene causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections. These thick secretions also obstruct the pancreas, preventing digestive enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and absorb food. The median AGE OF SURVIVAL for a person with CF is in the MID-30s, but is growing thanks to research by the CF Foundation.
What many people don't see or know is that during a ‘good’ day, Faith takes pills (enzymes) EVERY time she eats to help her body absorb & digest food (25 pills/day). She also eats extra calories attempting to keep her weight up, wears a vest everyday which vigorously thumps her torso to break up mucus in her lungs, & she gets breathing treatments to thin out mucus in her lungs. Faith takes an acid reflux medicine & concentrated vitamins daily. When she's sick, these treatments are increased to an extreme, but we’ve been very lucky to have avoided the inevitable hospital stay so far. Every 3 months, she sees a Pulmonary specialist, GI specialist & a whole CF team...Faith also just celebrated her 4th birthday.
We joke that Faith is “advanced.” She’s been able to roll over since only 5 ½ weeks old & slept through the night by 2.5 months! Even as a tiny infant it was obvious she was already SUCH a lover of life. Now at 3 years, she is ‘miss independent,’ likes to have her nails painted, wear fun shoes, likes to help mommy clean and daddy fix stuff and a conversation with her is nothing short of complete entertainment. Faith loves the outdoors, kites, camping and her little sister (most of the time).
It's now 2009, will you help make a difference this year? There's no better time than RIGHT now! All funds raised go to one of the BEST causes there is...finding better medications and a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis to prolong our baby Faith's life & many others. Please help me to raise money for our team "Faith Full" in the CFF's Greatstrides walkathon on May 2, 2009. If you've questioned either yourself or me about what you can do to help us fight her battle, THIS WOULD BE IT...in addition to prayers of course! We'd love to have you walk with us, too!
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a donor-supported national non-profit organization established over 50 years ago, at a time when children with CF rarely lived to be school age. CFF works very hard to allocate research funds towards the future of better medications & an eventual cure for CF. We are thrilled to announce that median age of survival for a person with CF has increased to 36.8 years, up from 32.9 in 2003. This milestone was achieved in part due to the efforts & innovative approaches of the CFF. We will not be satisfied until we stop losing precious lives to this disease, but there is gratification in the realizations that we are impacting both length & quality of life for all people with CF.
ANY AMOUNT you can donate is GREATLY appreciated and it only takes 2 minutes (Tax ID#131930701) You can also give money directly to Stephanie, checks made payable to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In 2005, in only 6 weeks shortly after baby Faith was born, we raised over $6,000 and in 2006 we exceeded $13,000!!! Thank you again to our awesome family, friends, co-workers & strangers! Ask if your company has MATCHING gifts to your donation and it'll DOUBLE the donation!
Research & care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a HUGE difference in extending the quality of life for people like Faith with CF. Currently, there are an increasing number of medications in different trial phases for bettering the lives of CFers...WITHOUT FUNDING FOR RESEARCH, ANY OF THESE COULD BE TAKEN OFF THE PIPELINE...WHAT IF ONE TAKEN OFF DUE TO LACK OF FUNDING WAS THE CURE??? Precious lives continue to be lost to CF every day. PLEASE help us in finding a cure.
PLEASE JOIN OUR TEAM TO HELP FUNDRAISE AND SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT CF, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT SURE WHETHER YOU'LL MAKE IT OUT TO THE WALK...YOU CAN BE AN 'ANGEL WALKER' AND HELP US TO RAISE MONEY!!!
Our personal website is www.TeamFaithFull.com!!!
Together, we can make a DIFFERENCE in the lives of those with CF! Thank you for supporting the mission of the CF Foundation, GREAT STRIDES, and MY FAMILY! God bless
              
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