Whose Face Do You See?

Cystic Fibrosis -- I lived in ignorance for most of my life about this awful disease. I didn't know what cystic fibrosis was before 2001, I don't know that I had even heard of it before then. I had no idea that:

"Approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States have cystic fibrosis. An additional ten million more—or about one in every 31 Americans—are carriers of the defective CF gene, but do not have the disease. CF is most common in Caucasians, but it can affect all races."

If you had asked me what the symptoms of CF were, I could not have told you that the most common are:

• Very salty-tasting skin
• Persistent coughing, at times with phlegm
• Frequent lung infections, like pneumonia or bronchitis
• Wheezing or shortness of breath
• Poor growth/weight gain in spite of a good appetite
• Frequent greasy, bulky stools or difficulty in bowel movements
• Small, fleshy growths in the nose called nasal polyps

I had no idea that my life and the lives of my children would forever be changed by this disease...

Yet, when I think of cystic fibrosis I don't see a disease, I see a face, a person. I see the face of my husband. I see the face of Lily and Wyatt's daddy. I see the face of the person that I miss each an every day because this disease does not have a cure. I see Ryan.

I hear stories and read blogs about people with cystic fibrosis. Some stories are sad, difficult, and depressing. Some stories are happy, heartfelt, and exciting. Almost all stories have something positive to share. You see the thing about cystic fibrosis is that it seems to bring out the best in people. All of the people I have know with CF are positive about life. They see the glass as half-full. They are determined. They are fighters. They are unwilling to give up until the last option has been tried. They don't want you to feel sorry for them, they want you to see them as a person who has an illness, but is not defined by the illness.


Whose face do I see when I think about cystic fibrosis? I see my husband, who fought until the very end against this disease. Whose face do you see when you think about cystic fibrosis?

Please join me in fighting this terrible disease. Please join my team, Sweeney Striders, in taking a stand against this disease that takes lives every day, but not before those lives can make a difference. My personal goal for Great Strides is $1,000. I need 10 more people who are willing to partner with me at $10 a piece to help me reach my goal.

Facts about CF listed in the post can be found here.