Hello Friends and Family! It's our 11th Year participating in the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk! We would like to ask once again for your help in raising money for our "Cruisin' For Katie" Team to help cure Cystic Fibrosis! Katie has had a very tough year!

THE AMAZING RACE…………for Katie and 30,000 others!!!!

In the Amazing Race reality show on TV, contestants compete for one million dollars. It is a strenuous race and very challenging, filled with unexpected twists and turns, detours, challenges and roadblocks. One Million Dollars – quite a prize and worth racing ….. However the prize is NOTHING in comparison to finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis!

Katie is a real life player in the Amazing Race. She works daily to overcome the challenges of life with CF. She is blessed with a strong support team – Mommy and Suzanne- who encourage her when she encounters a hard challenge, such as when she was in the hospital for a long 25 day stay through Thanksgiving. Katie’s doctors are also a wonderful support team, providing her with up to date treatment and programs which will eventually defeat Cystic Fibrosis.

The hospital stay was definitely a ROADBLOCK – a challenge in which only one person can participate. It was a difficult ROADBLOCK – daily challenges were met head-on by our Katie, who, even when discouraged, kept her sense of humor and her courage. Katie was wheeled off to the operating room, all alone, three different times. Her support team needed support themselves, because it is most difficult to see a child alone where only she can go for treatment. So we played Scrabble on Grandma’s iTouch and talked about the fun trips we have taken and how we look forward to future fun times.

Katie had many DETOURS too…we all participated in them. She was fine; no she wasn’t. Things were looking up…then, another detour through her long journey. We prayed together. My support was created through you and the blog I kept ---all the good wishes and prayers pouring in by the hour.

We need you to provide the prize for Katie’s AMAZING RACE. Only research will help cure or control Cystic Fibrosis. The CF Foundation has an impeccable record of spending your money so that it benefits the patients of CF. Please help us reach that prize.

The Great Strides Walk will held be on May 17th in North Park at Pie Traynor Field. Our ‘Cruisin’ For Katie Team’ will start with sign-in at 9am and the walk will begin at 10 o’clock and all are welcome. This is an event which has become a family tradition for many of you and we welcome you back, thankful as always for your support. We welcome newcomers – the weather is not always great, but the walk is easy, everyone gets a ‘Cruisin’ for Katie’ T-shirt and you will have a good time. Hot dogs, soft drinks and lots of food are provided after the Walk. One big picnic along with DJ!

Please come. Please solicit contributions from your friends – I know this is a difficult year for charitable giving. If you can’t physically come to this walk site, consider creating a ‘virtual walk’. You can do this through your company or just form your own ‘team’ for Katie. There are many walk sites around the country on this weekend. You can find out where they are at www.cff.org.

Please give what you can to help Katie in her AMAZING RACE to find a Cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

Hope to see you there! love, Becky, Suzanne, and Katie Gomes

P.S. To make your contribution by credit card, use this address: www.cff.org/great_strides/RebeccaGomes . Be sure to make ‘Rebecca Gomes’ part of the address so that Katie gets credit for your contribution.

IMPORTANT CHANGES: The GREAT STRIDES walk will be in North Park up by swimming pool at Pie Traynor Field on Sunday, May 17, 2009. Registration for the walk is at 9am. The walk starts at 10am and it's a rain or shine event! Let us pray for sunshine! Please bring all donations to the walk. If you can't make it to walk with us....then you can donate right now online--- Making a donation is easy and secure! Just go to www.cff.org/great_strides/RebeccaGomes to make a donation that will be credited to our “Cruisin’ For Katie” team. Any amount you can donate is greatly appreciated--- or you can send your donations to me at: Becky Gomes, 9572 Perry Hwy, Pittsburgh PA 15237. Please make your checks payable to the CF Foundation.

P.P.S. The CF Foundation is also now on You Tube. For a four minute informative video and to see what Katie and others with cystic fibrosis go through on a daily basis go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpbTIzYiVP8

P.P.P.S. Please forward this letter on to personal friends that may be interested in walking and/or donating! Together we can make CF stand for Cure Found!

P.P.P.P.S. T-Shirts!!! Music!!! Climbing Wall! Picnic lunch!!!! Ice balls!!!! See you on Sunday, May 17!!!