Make A Difference - Cure CF

I had to steal this picture to post of Bailey on her wedding day. Isn't she the most gorgeous bride??

MEET BAILEY

I am so excited to have my good friend Bailey doing a guest post today. What an amazing person she is. Bailey has Cystic Fibrosis and seriously she is the strongest person I know. She defiantly doesn't let it stop her. After being extremely successful playing soccer in high school she went on to play in college and is now about to start her second year of nursing school in the Weber State Nursing program. The month of May is Cystic Fibrosis awareness month so I thought it would be great to have her tell you a little about what CF is and how you can help.

I know a few people who have CF and it is such a hard thing to have to live with. I can't imagine, but they are so close to finding a cure and it makes me so happy that my friends are that much closer to being cured from CF. 

Check out Bailey's Blog here.

About CF

Cystic Fibrosis is a life shortening genetic disease that as of right now has no cure. It affects the lungs and digestive system mainly, but in all reality affects the whole body, including infertility in men and usually in women. When I was born in 1990, kids weren't living longer than 18 years and now people are living in their upper 30's, there are a rare few that are living in their 50's and 60's. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has done A TON for the development of treatment and continuing to increase the life expectancy of CF patients.

ABOUT ME

I was diagnosed at 6 months old. My parents were told I'd never be able to "keep up" with other kids from the decrease in lung function, but I'm highly functional. As a child I spent two weeks in the hospital every year to stay healthy up until I was about 12.

I am supposed to do two treatments a day that consist of inhalers, nebulizers and a vest (a thing that shakes the mucus up to be more easy to get out), and every other month I do three treatments a day of nebulized antibiotics.

I take 5 enzymes (pills) every time I eat or I don't digest my food and get all the nutrients I need (why CF patients tend to have a hard time gaining weight). Any time I snack I take 3 enzymes. I consider myself lucky because I'm so healthy. A lot of other "CFers" aren't as lucky as I am. I owe that to my parents being so diligent of my cares when I was younger and to being so active in sports.

I'm walking in the Great Strides which is part of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It's a walk that they do in many different places all over the country, and teams get together to raise money. My walk is in Provo, Utah on June 1st.

To donate go to here.

It's super easy if you just go directly to that and click donate once you're at the page. Any amount is great. Their advancements in treatment are seriously SO CLOSE to a cure that's great! A new drug called Kalydeco came out that is the closest thing to a cure so far that is for a small percent of CF patients with a certain mutation. This drug is making life changing things happen for kiddos.

To learn more about CF visit  www.cff.org