My Great Strides Story
Eileen Marcoff
Eileen Marcoff
Eileen's sweet great grandson, Caden Lee Javorek was diagnosed with Cystic fibrosis at just two weeks old. His diagnosis came as a complete shock to the entire family.Caden began his battle immediately and hasn't looked back since.
As the months passed, Caden was in and out of the hospital, on countless medications, and battling weight gain. It’s a place in time we don’t like to revisit.When he turned two, his first modulator drug became available to him, Orkambi. We weren’t completely sure of the science behind the medication, but it seemed to help him. Hospital visits lessened and Caden was growing. We were so grateful!
As the months passed, Caden was in and out of the hospital, on countless medications, and battling weight gain. It’s a place in time we don’t like to revisit.When he turned two, his first modulator drug became available to him, Orkambi. We weren’t completely sure of the science behind the medication, but it seemed to help him. Hospital visits lessened and Caden was growing. We were so grateful!
Then something amazing happened, magical even. We heard of this new drug Trikafta that was SAVING adult lives. CF patients who couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs were running 5ks. This medication that would replace Orkambi was truly life saving. We had to wait years for it to be approved for Caden’s age. But the date finally came and Caden was eligible for Trikafta in May 2023.
He has been on this medication for 1 1/2 years now and it has worked wonders for Caden. This is not a cure, and we still have our ups and downs but how incredibly fortunate are we to have this medication for him? How lucky are we that out of all the genetic diseases in the world, our Caden has a disease that is currently treatable? We are so blessed, that Caden’s disease has gone from a life expectancy of 40 when he was born, to now 65! We have been given all of this because of amazing people like YOU that have donated money that goes directly to research that is happening right now. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for donating to The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. You are directly impacting Caden's life and we are forever grateful. We believe Eileen, AKA Mom, AKA Nan, AKA Punky would be grateful too!
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