30 Years. One Walk. A Different Future.
 

This year marks my 30th Great Strides Walk in Columbia, South Carolina.

Ten years ago, Ashley Anne walked beside me for the last time.
And that is okay.  Because to Ashley Anne, Great Strides is an event for little kids.
And to me… Great Strides is an event that used to have a lot of little kids—
because the big kids were often too sick to walk.

In the early 2000s, I sent out a letter-writing campaign called IMAGINE.
It asked people to imagine a life most never have to.

Imagine your doctor is your special friend.
Imagine you wait for visiting hours just to play with your siblings in a hospital hallway.
Imagine that you measure time by sticking Band-Aids  to an IV pole, one for each day, and then adding them up.
Imagine hospital stays that last over a month, and you are in grade school.
Imagine missing school, birthdays, Christmas (twice), your friends… and your dogs.
Imagine being a child and knowing far too much about survival.

Back then, imagining helped people understand CF.
Today, imagining is still necessary—because children are still growing up with this deadly disease.

Yes, science has changed lives.
Yes, my daughter is here. She is defying odds that once felt immovable.
And yes, that is nothing short of a miracle.

But I am still sad that little kids have to think about cystic fibrosis at all.
I want a future where they don’t have to be brave.
Where they don’t have to fear hospital rooms.
Where there are never Band-Aids on IV poles to count the days.

So I walk.

I walk for the little kids.
I walk for the big kids who couldn’t.
I walk for all the kids we lost.
I walk for the parents who learned a language they never asked to learn.
And I walk because imagining a different future isn’t enough anymore.

We’re close.
But we’re not done.

If you’ve ever wondered why this walk still matters—
this is why.