My Great Strides Story
Suzi Gallihue
Fundraising for Baltimore Great Strides
Suzi Gallihue
This isn’t our usual annual CF letter.
Lily isn’t here to list accomplishments, share hopeful updates, or reflect on her year. It’s been a tough—and very full—one. So instead, I’m writing my annual “Mom Addendum” to give you a glimpse into Lily’s reality right now.
This past year has been one of her hardest yet.
She’s faced repeated hospitalizations and undergone countless tests and procedures to make sense of yet another new CF symptom—how can there still be more? She lives with constant pain, takes dozens of pills every day, and spends hours doing breathing treatments just to get through.
And yet—she persists.
In the midst of it all, Lily will graduate with a degree in Vocal Performance this month, and is on track to complete a second degree in Music Composition next year. She proudly sings with the University of Maryland Chamber Singers, spent last summer working at the Kennedy Center, directed her first opera, and continues to compose. One of her works was even named a finalist in the American Pops Orchestra’s inaugural Ruth Wales DuPont National Collegiate Composition Competition. (Okay—I know, that’s a bit of a mom brag list.) And of course, a major highlight of her year was cheering her team all the way to a Super Bowl victory—Go Birds!
Despite everything CF throws at her (we wish it would stop already!)— and the added weight of living in a world where critical support systems and personal rights feel increasingly uncertain—Lily continues to create, to grow, and to live fully. Her resilience is nothing short of extraordinary.
Honestly, I don’t know how she does it. But I do know this: she doesn’t do it alone. She stands on the shoulders of researchers, doctors, caretakers—and people like you—who believe in her future.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has been a lifeline for us, funding vital research and care that give us real hope. Their progress depends on the generosity of people like you.
If you’re able, please consider making a gift today. Every donation brings us closer to better treatments, more time, and a future where Lily—and everyone living with CF—can look forward with hope.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for caring.
And thank you for standing with Lily in this fight.
With love and gratitude,
Suzi
Lily isn’t here to list accomplishments, share hopeful updates, or reflect on her year. It’s been a tough—and very full—one. So instead, I’m writing my annual “Mom Addendum” to give you a glimpse into Lily’s reality right now.
This past year has been one of her hardest yet.
She’s faced repeated hospitalizations and undergone countless tests and procedures to make sense of yet another new CF symptom—how can there still be more? She lives with constant pain, takes dozens of pills every day, and spends hours doing breathing treatments just to get through.
And yet—she persists.
In the midst of it all, Lily will graduate with a degree in Vocal Performance this month, and is on track to complete a second degree in Music Composition next year. She proudly sings with the University of Maryland Chamber Singers, spent last summer working at the Kennedy Center, directed her first opera, and continues to compose. One of her works was even named a finalist in the American Pops Orchestra’s inaugural Ruth Wales DuPont National Collegiate Composition Competition. (Okay—I know, that’s a bit of a mom brag list.) And of course, a major highlight of her year was cheering her team all the way to a Super Bowl victory—Go Birds!
Despite everything CF throws at her (we wish it would stop already!)— and the added weight of living in a world where critical support systems and personal rights feel increasingly uncertain—Lily continues to create, to grow, and to live fully. Her resilience is nothing short of extraordinary.
Honestly, I don’t know how she does it. But I do know this: she doesn’t do it alone. She stands on the shoulders of researchers, doctors, caretakers—and people like you—who believe in her future.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has been a lifeline for us, funding vital research and care that give us real hope. Their progress depends on the generosity of people like you.
If you’re able, please consider making a gift today. Every donation brings us closer to better treatments, more time, and a future where Lily—and everyone living with CF—can look forward with hope.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for caring.
And thank you for standing with Lily in this fight.
With love and gratitude,
Suzi
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