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Each month through the end of the year, we’ll feature a special person or team who played an integral role in the 2010 Great Strides walks. We hope you’ll find this story, the fourth in the series, to be inspiring as we continue to make Great Strides in our efforts to find a cure for CF!
Megan Neville
Walk: Point Pleasant, N.J., Great Strides held May 16
Team: Aidan’s All Stars, led by Aidan, 5, who has CF, younger brother Gavin, and parents Megan and Dan Neville
Impact: Raised $35,000 in 2010 to support the CF Foundation’s vital programs
“He’s not a kid who sits around,” Megan Neville says about her son Aidan, 5, who has CF. “He’s a challenge from the moment he gets up to the moment he goes to bed!” |
Why I WalkMy son Aidan was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 8 days old, and we started treatments that very same day. At first Dan and I were devastated, and we knew we needed to help find a cure.
We did our first CF fundraiser with the Greater New Jersey Chapter two months later and then started our Great Strides team that winter.
We see the impact of our fundraising efforts every day when we look at Aidan. When he was 18 months old, one of his physicians, Dr. Warren Warwick of the University of Minnesota CF Care Center, wrote in his report: “This child is remarkably intelligent, prepare for Harvard!”
Today Aidan is 5, and he is a strong-willed, opinionated, spirited handful—and he is incredibly bright, just like Dr. Warwick claimed.
What Makes Me Proud
Aidan truly amazes us each day with his stamina and determination to beat this disease. He knows what he has to do to keep healthy and, even though he doesn’t like it, he never misses a treatment. Aidan truly is our inspiration.
My Biggest Challenge
Our family’s biggest challenge is helping Aidan stay positive. He is so good with all his treatments and pills, but he continues to frequently get sick, and that’s very frustrating for him. Every day we look for new ways to keep him smiling and upbeat.
My Thanks
In the six Great Strides walks since his birth, Aidan’s All Star team has raised well over $100,000—this is all through the support of family, friends and the many other generous people who want to help find a cure.
Throughout the year, they’ll send cards to Aidan, ask how we’re doing, and arrange fundraisers of their own.
Aidan also has an amazing CF team, especially Dr. Robert Zanni and Bridget Marra, at the Monmouth Medical Center CF Care Center in New Jersey. They have been with us since day one and keep us forever optimistic.
They really care about Aidan and all their patients in a way that I've never seen before. They are helping to keep our son alive, and there will never be enough thanks for that.
My Dream
Dan and I hope that Aidan realizes that CF is part of him, but it’s not all of him, and that he can be successful in whatever he wants to do. We want him to continue living every day to the fullest.
Additional Resources
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