Hi guys!

Thank you for supporting my mission to help find a cure for CF! From my page here, you can click on the gold action buttons above to join our team, make a secure on-line donation, and/or send this page to others!

The CF Foundation is all about "adding tomorrows every day" ... and I plan on having plenty of tomorrows! Your support means the world to me! You rock!!

Forever grateful, Rachel

What is Rachel's Roadies and why should you help? Read on... __________________________________________________________________

HERE'S OUR STORY. We're working on a happy ending...

IT ALL STARTED BECAUSE OF ONE TINY LITTLE GIRL...

So innocent with her crazy blond curls, big brown eyes, and an incessant giggle. So happy... and so oblivious to the bad news. There’s no explaining the pain and despair we felt back then… and ours hands were tied. There was nothing we could do. Except walk… and together we walked in South Park that Sunday afternoon back in 1996… a small group of family and friends, calling ourselves Rachel’s Roadies … all for one beautiful little toddler named Rachel Marie, who had been dealt a bad hand with her devastating diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis. Little Rachel had no idea back then of what lie ahead of her and in no way could understand the amount of work she’d need to put in through the years ahead to keep herself healthy and hospital-free and she certainly wasn’t old enough to comprehend the outpouring of support she’d receive from countless friends and family who would, till this day, continue to walk on her behalf every single year in South Park on Great Strides Sunday … and on behalf of her younger sister, Megan, who 4 years later, would also be given the same cruel diagnosis. With each passing year, we grew in numbers rapidly, raising tens of thousands as a team in research dollars for the only solution Rachel and her sister have to survive this impossible diagnosis… a cure when there is none.

THE YEARS HAVE PASSED QUICKLY...

Rachel grew into a feisty, clever, mischievous little girl and everyone loved to hear the latest “Rachel Stories” told over and over by those who watched her grow up. Her love of life has never weaned, and today at 14 years old, Rachel has grown into a one-of-a-kind young woman who amazes us all with her wit, intelligence, kind heart, and enthusiastic spirit. How does Rachel feel now about the personal daily battle she wages against the effects of Cystic Fibrosis in her life? Ask her and she’ll tell you it’s a no-brainer… it’s a battle she is determined to win despite all odds.

RACHEL'S WORLD TODAY...

Rachel focuses on all the things young girls focus on today… school, sports, friends, & the Jonas Brothers. What she never complains about, and what most people don’t know, is that Rachel also spends over 4 hours every single day on chest physiotherapy and therapeutic breathing treatments. From the moment Rachel rolls out of bed in the morning until she can finally fall asleep at night, she has accomplished and endured more than any 14 years old should. She has also taken 30 or more pills throughout the day just to be able to grow & function normally, plus an additional 8 daily medications designed to slow liver and lung disease progression. She puts up with needles, hospital visits, tests, and procedures like a champ, and is a favorite face among the staff at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. Her courage lights the way for her sister who follows in her brave footsteps.

SHE'S ON A MISSION...

Delivering keynote speeches in front of crowds of all shapes and sizes, Rachel has raised thousands of dollars for the cause every year and has been interviewed by TV and publications about her unfailing mission to help cure CF for herself, her sister, and for the 30,000 other young people who fight the CF fight with her. She has inspired many with her words and her humor throughout the years. When you hear her speak, you know that Rachel truly believes in her Cystic Fibrosis Foundation because she knows that the science paid for by money raised by CF families and friends is the reason why she and her sister are alive today… it wasn’t that long ago that Rachel would not have been expected to live long enough to attend Kindergarten. Now the world is hers … and it’s completely due to current day treatments discovered by the CFF.

HOPE IS REAL...

Today Rachel beams about very NEW promising treatments in the CFF drug pipeline that could be available to her before she even graduates high school that could actually correct the basic CF defect in her cells, changing the course of her prognosis forever! This is NOT just a dream anymore … it’s real and it’s here. But there are and will be serious road blocks… Rachel doesn’t care… despite the restraints of today’s economy & shrinking medical trial budgets that slow our progress, Rachel believes her miracle is around the corner …and that she will win this fight.

We’re Rachel’s Roadies … and we’re here to share Rachel’s optimism and drive… it’s time to hit this ball out of the park for Rachel and Megan… join us today!

__________________________________________________________________

Join RACHEL’S ROADIES ‘09 … we walk this year on May 17, 2009!

Great Strides Walk for a CF Cure May 17, 2009 at 10 am, South Park Fairgrounds

Join us by clicking on the center “Join My Team” button on this page or simply join by emailing Rachel’s family at angelakinney@comcast.net You can join even if you can’t make it in person on May 17th… we have many members of our team who walk with us in spirit on our big walk day.

You can also support our team in a huge way by clicking on the “Click to Donate” and “Send Page to Others” Buttons!