When my daughter Brandi was born, she weighed only four pounds, five ounces and, to be honest, she struggled. I knew when she was born that we were in for something difficult. But, we were lucky. After 18 months, I could see she was going to be healthy -- we had gone through the toughest part.
Brandi is 33 now and has a family of her own but I have never forgotten that feeling -- the fear I experienced when she was born. As a way of expressing my gratitude for my daughter's health and acknowledging that I had only begun to understand the struggles of parents of children with chronic diseases like CF, I became involved in the CF Foundation.
Being a part of the Foundation has given me so much more than I could have ever imagined. I even met my now wife, Nanette, at a fundraiser. Little did we know that event attendance for a good cause would lead to marriage.
Nanette and I are inspired by the strength of people with CF and their families, who care and advocate for their children in the face of this terrible disease. Every day, we feel lucky to have the opportunity to meet parents and children with CF and to be a part of this tightknit community. We both feel a special compassion for and connection to each family we are lucky enough to meet -- it is truly humbling.
As president of the Board of Trustees of the Indiana Chapter, and as someone who has come to know and love the community of families touched by CF, I am committed to supporting the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis and better treatments now, and in the future. That is why Nanette and I have made a commitment to people with cystic fibrosis for years to come by naming the CF Foundation as a beneficiary of our trusts. This legacy gift is an enduring statement of our values.
We are hopeful there will be a cure before our legacy gift goes to the Foundation, but if not, we want to know that the effort to find a cure will continue. To us, a gift in our trusts is the continuation of what we do on a daily basis -- try to give back.
We hope you too consider making a legacy gift. It's easy to do, and the CF Foundation is very helpful in the process. The Foundation offers a great (and free) publication called “Easy Ways to Leave a Legacy” that can help guide you if you also want to leave an enduring legacy. You can obtain this by visiting www.cff.org/legacygiving or contacting Tricia Benson, Senior Director of Planned Giving at tbenson@cff.org or 240-482-2845.