Sue Klug
There are about 100,000 people living in the world today with Cystic Fibrosis. 40,000 of them live in the United State. 2,500 of them live in California. And, one of them is my daughter, Shelby.
Shelby was diagnosed with CF at the age of two. She has undergone more medical procedures that most people could even imagine. When she was healthy, that included daily breathing treatment therapies, bronocoscopies, CT scans, pulmonary function tests, bi-annual two week hospital stays (we called them tune up's) and more... plus about 50 pills every day. When she was NOT healthy, she was admitted to the hospital for multi-week stays that included intravenous antibiotics and more invasive procedures to try to restore her health.
There is currently no cure for cystic fibrosis and too many people with CF die young. This genetic life-shortening disease devastates the lungs, pancreas, and other vital organs. CF makes it difficult to breathe and fight life-threatening infections, often leading to extensive lung damage and respiratory failure.
For Shelby, the disease lead to a dangerous infection in 2015 that required her to receive a double lung transplant. In 2019, she experienced kidney failure as the powerhouse drugs wrecked havoc on her kidneys. Within a matter of weeks she also experienced rejection of her transplanted lungs which resulted in the need for a second double lung transplant. In April of 2020, she received both a new kidney and another double lung transplant. She is doing well today but the fear of lung infection and lung rejection is with her every hour of every day.
While progress has been made, a long road lies ahead for far too many people fighting this terrible disease. We need a cure so that everyone with CF has a better chance to live a long, healthy life.
At the age of 27, we were so blessed to see Shelby marry the love of her life in a beautiful ceremony in Orange, CA. When she was diagnosed as a child, we were told that her life expectancy would be about 18 years of age and that she would likely not graduate from high school. So, you can imagine why we are over-the-moon thankful that she was able to graduate from college and be a newlywed.
God is good and we are so blessed!
Will you help us end cystic fibrosis?
By donating to my fundraising goal, you have the power to advance the research and science needed to drive our shared dream forward – a cure for everyone with CF. Please consider a donation that will help us turn the letters 'CF' into the words 'Cure Found.'
God Bless!
Shelby was diagnosed with CF at the age of two. She has undergone more medical procedures that most people could even imagine. When she was healthy, that included daily breathing treatment therapies, bronocoscopies, CT scans, pulmonary function tests, bi-annual two week hospital stays (we called them tune up's) and more... plus about 50 pills every day. When she was NOT healthy, she was admitted to the hospital for multi-week stays that included intravenous antibiotics and more invasive procedures to try to restore her health.
There is currently no cure for cystic fibrosis and too many people with CF die young. This genetic life-shortening disease devastates the lungs, pancreas, and other vital organs. CF makes it difficult to breathe and fight life-threatening infections, often leading to extensive lung damage and respiratory failure.
For Shelby, the disease lead to a dangerous infection in 2015 that required her to receive a double lung transplant. In 2019, she experienced kidney failure as the powerhouse drugs wrecked havoc on her kidneys. Within a matter of weeks she also experienced rejection of her transplanted lungs which resulted in the need for a second double lung transplant. In April of 2020, she received both a new kidney and another double lung transplant. She is doing well today but the fear of lung infection and lung rejection is with her every hour of every day.
While progress has been made, a long road lies ahead for far too many people fighting this terrible disease. We need a cure so that everyone with CF has a better chance to live a long, healthy life.
At the age of 27, we were so blessed to see Shelby marry the love of her life in a beautiful ceremony in Orange, CA. When she was diagnosed as a child, we were told that her life expectancy would be about 18 years of age and that she would likely not graduate from high school. So, you can imagine why we are over-the-moon thankful that she was able to graduate from college and be a newlywed.
God is good and we are so blessed!
Will you help us end cystic fibrosis?
By donating to my fundraising goal, you have the power to advance the research and science needed to drive our shared dream forward – a cure for everyone with CF. Please consider a donation that will help us turn the letters 'CF' into the words 'Cure Found.'
God Bless!
JAN
14
14
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