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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 sixth in the series, to be inspiring as we continue to make Great Strides in our efforts to find a cure for CF!
Sharon DeLorenzo
Sharon and Jason DeLorenzo with their children Jack, Grant and Sophia. |
Walk: Houston, Texas, Great Strides held May 22
Team: DeLorenzo’s Dashers, led by siblings Sophia and Jack DeLorenzo, who have CF, little brother Grant and their parents Sharon and Jason
Impact: Raised $178,855 in 2010 to support the CF Foundation’s vital programs
Why I Walk
When my daughter Sophia, 9, was a newborn, she was diagnosed with CF. Three years later, our son Jack, 6, was born with CF, too. Jason and I also walk for our 11-year-old nephew, Joseph, who has the disease.
I learned about CF through one of my sorority sisters when I was in college, so I understood some of the challenges my children would face as they got older. My friend is now 40 years old—she’s an inspiration.
My kids don’t let CF get in their way. Sophia is your average 9-year-old girl and loves spending time with her girlfriends, is a Girl Scout and will begin dance classes this fall.
Jack is an avid athlete who is on the baseball team this summer and recently won the boys’ age six-and-under freestyle event in swimming. I walk so that Sophia and Jack can live a really great life.
What Makes Us Proud
Over the past nine years, DeLorenzo’s Dashers has donated more than $1 million to the fight against CF. We’re so proud of the support we receive from our family and friends year after year. Their generosity is so incredible.
Our Biggest Challenge
When Sophia was six months old, we kicked off DeLorenzo’s Dashers with a letter-writing campaign, and ever since, I send an annual newsletter about Sophia and Jack’s health and recent developments in CF research.
My biggest challenge is finding the time to write the letter, send it to everyone we know (and those we don’t) and then follow up with thank-you notes while still being the best mom I can be to Sophia, Jack and our 18-month-old Grant—all while pregnant with our fourth child.
But I can always find the time because we don’t have a choice—my kids really need a cure.
My Dream
I dream that Sophia and Jack will continue on the same path of good health and that with new treatments and someday a cure, they will fulfill all of their dreams and CF won’t stand in their way.
Additional Resources
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