In 2003, our son Colin was born was born with Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes severe digestive complications and life threatening lung infections, among other serious medical conditions. Colin spent his first month of life in the NICU due to cf complications. Since then, he has had multiple hospital stays and in 2009 received a feeding tube because of his inability to gain weight and thrive. He takes a dozen pills a day and has spent over 1000 hours wearing his vibrating vest to clear his lungs.

We do absolutely everything we can to find a cure for this disease. We open ourselves up to recently diagnosed families to help them through a tough time, we solicit donations from business after business after business, we chair events. We will make a difference, a cure will be found, but not without help.

In the last 50 years, a great deal of progress has been made toward finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. CF children born in 1960, weren’t expected to live through grammar school. Today, life expectancy is 37, which is still not acceptable. Progress is still being made and moving faster than ever. There are drugs in FDA testing that could address the basic defect of this disease! But progress takes time or money. We don’t have the time, so we need the money. With breakthrough medications and therapies on the horizon, our fundraising efforts are more important than ever to help Colin and 30,000 other children in America with this disease.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Great Strides Walk is our annual fundraiser. The walk this year is on Saturday, May 21 at the Naperville Riverwalk Pavilion. We would love for you to support our team and help us raise money for research. We participate in a lot of events and chair a few. We sincerely offer a huge THANK YOU to those who have helped in the past and we hope you can help again. Any amount, large or small, would make a difference for Colin and many others.

A few ways you can help...

1. JOIN COLIN’S CLAN. Simply click the Join My Walk Team button on this page. If prompted, be sure to register for Naperville - Riverwalk Grand Pavilion. On registration type, click the bullet: “I am an individual signing up as a member of a team.” Select Colin’s Clan (Chris or Trisha Walsh). Even if you cannot walk that day, you can still raise money in support of our team.

2. DONATE HERE. Any amount can help us and making a donation is easy and secure! Just click the Click to Donate button on this page to go to make a donation that will be credited to my team. It is 100% tax deductible.

3. DONATE VIA CHECK. Please email me at ChrisandTrishaWalsh@gmail.com for details on how to submit checks. Please make sure to ask your company or your spouse's company if they provide matching funds. Many companies will match your donation.

4. SHARE. Share on Facebook. Forward over email. Get the word out and together we can make a difference.

Also, please feel free to share our team's website on to your friends and family who would be interested in helping the cause. We are forever grateful for your support and generosity.

Thank you, Chris and Trisha Walsh

"LIFE is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our BREATH away."

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Great Strides is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event. Please help me meet my goal of funding a cure for cystic fibrosis by sponsoring me. Your generous gift will be used efficiently and effectively, as nearly 90 cents of every dollar of revenue raised is available for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education.

Making a donation is easy and secure! Just click the "Click to Donate" button on this page to go to make a donation that will be credited to my team. Any amount you can donate is greatly appreciated!

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. That's why your help is needed now more than ever to ensure that a cure is found sooner - rather than later. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those with CF! Thank you for supporting the mission of the CF Foundation and Great Strides!