Mary Rankin
Hey everyone, please read the letter from Mary and help the Rankin family - any amount is great! Thank you so much!
I have Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that affects the lungs, digestive system, and much more. It is a progressive disease, meaning that it worsens over time. There is currently no cure for CF. Over the past 2 years I have been in and out of the hospital followed by IV antibiotics 5 separate times each being 2-3 weeks in length. The last time my lungs were only working at 36% capacity when I needed to start antibiotics. The medications have been working well for about a month after completion and then symptoms begin coming back. CF continues to attack my body every day until I will eventually need a lung or liver transplant or my lungs will give out. It gets harder and harder each year to breathe, to stay out of the hospital, and to live a normal life.
Cystic Fibrosis causes my body to produce extra sticky mucus that prevents my liver from digesting food and causes repeated lung infections eventually resulting in lung failure. I have been hospitalized 16 times (at least) trying to eradicate infections and restore my health. I had a port put in last April to be able to take my IV medications because my arms can't handle any more picc lines.
I take multiple pills daily to digest food, prevent nausea and prevent liver problems. I inhale 4 different medications to open my airways and improve lung function. I also use an airway clearance lung machine to move the extra mucus out of my body and to help me breathe. I need to use these two to three times daily, sometimes more, and even with this, it is hard to maintain adequate lung function.
I try to stay healthy as much as possible because a simple cold can cause a breeding place for infection and in turn the need for a hospital stay. As I get older the bacteria affecting me is becoming more resistant to antibiotics. A few years ago, I spent 3 months of round the clock IV medications followed by 9 months of very hard to tolerate inhaled and oral antibiotics, on top of my normal CF daily regimen. Upon completion, my new baseline for lung function was only 65% of what normal lungs function at, and since then has dropped to 55%. So despite working hard to eradicate CF superbugs, I still cannot always restore lung function.
I am asking you to donate to the CF Foundation by clicking on the yellow button. They fund research and all of my therapies. Trikafta came out a few years ago that helps to stop the disease from progressing in the lungs. Although I am ineligible for this medication due to specific genetic mutations, I am hopeful of benefiting from some of the newer therapies coming out.
Take a look https://youtu.be/BC25SUBDa0Y at an older video my family made in 2018.
The Great Strides Walk is May 18th at Suwanee Town Center Park. Please donate to help find a cure! You can donate here by clicking on the donate button above.
Thank you from all of us!
Mary, Bryan, Kim, Andy, Noelle, David and John Rankin
I have Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that affects the lungs, digestive system, and much more. It is a progressive disease, meaning that it worsens over time. There is currently no cure for CF. Over the past 2 years I have been in and out of the hospital followed by IV antibiotics 5 separate times each being 2-3 weeks in length. The last time my lungs were only working at 36% capacity when I needed to start antibiotics. The medications have been working well for about a month after completion and then symptoms begin coming back. CF continues to attack my body every day until I will eventually need a lung or liver transplant or my lungs will give out. It gets harder and harder each year to breathe, to stay out of the hospital, and to live a normal life.
Cystic Fibrosis causes my body to produce extra sticky mucus that prevents my liver from digesting food and causes repeated lung infections eventually resulting in lung failure. I have been hospitalized 16 times (at least) trying to eradicate infections and restore my health. I had a port put in last April to be able to take my IV medications because my arms can't handle any more picc lines.
I take multiple pills daily to digest food, prevent nausea and prevent liver problems. I inhale 4 different medications to open my airways and improve lung function. I also use an airway clearance lung machine to move the extra mucus out of my body and to help me breathe. I need to use these two to three times daily, sometimes more, and even with this, it is hard to maintain adequate lung function.
I try to stay healthy as much as possible because a simple cold can cause a breeding place for infection and in turn the need for a hospital stay. As I get older the bacteria affecting me is becoming more resistant to antibiotics. A few years ago, I spent 3 months of round the clock IV medications followed by 9 months of very hard to tolerate inhaled and oral antibiotics, on top of my normal CF daily regimen. Upon completion, my new baseline for lung function was only 65% of what normal lungs function at, and since then has dropped to 55%. So despite working hard to eradicate CF superbugs, I still cannot always restore lung function.
I am asking you to donate to the CF Foundation by clicking on the yellow button. They fund research and all of my therapies. Trikafta came out a few years ago that helps to stop the disease from progressing in the lungs. Although I am ineligible for this medication due to specific genetic mutations, I am hopeful of benefiting from some of the newer therapies coming out.
Take a look https://youtu.be/BC25SUBDa0Y at an older video my family made in 2018.
The Great Strides Walk is May 18th at Suwanee Town Center Park. Please donate to help find a cure! You can donate here by clicking on the donate button above.
Thank you from all of us!
Mary, Bryan, Kim, Andy, Noelle, David and John Rankin
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