Let's go - Great Strides year seven! Our favorite girlie with CF is now a first grader! Audrey is a reading machine and enjoys doing art, STEM, writing and math (CF might be genetic, but love of math is not). In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, gymnastics, ballet, tap, and causing chaos with neighborhood friends.

When she turned six years old in July, Audrey switched to the newest available modulator, Alyftrek (A-lift-trek). This modulator is only taken once a day with a fatty meal, where as her previous modulator Trikafta was taken twice a day with two fatty meals. This might sound like a small change and it many ways it is. But let me tell you it has been life changing for us! Audrey is not a breakfast girlie and so getting her to eat a high fat meal first thing in the morning was a battle (think Gladiator meets breakfast food). We no longer have to negotiate at breakfast and this has made mornings better for everyone! Anecdotally, Audrey has been very healthy on Alyftrek. She's been able to stay off antibiotics for the most part and is able to fight her sicknesses without serious intervention. We're feeling very grateful that she's eligible for and has tolerated Alyftrek!

In other CF news, Emilia finally joined the Rocky Mountain Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as a board member. Chris has been a proud (and semi-absent) board member since roughly 2022 and Emilia needed to get in on the action. As a board member, Emilia and Chris sit on quarterly board meetings and pretty much do whatever the Foundation asks us to do. Sometimes it's easy things like writing thank you notes for donors. Other times we stand up support groups, speak at engagements, brainstorm fundraising ideas and make content for social media. Emilia is really excited to see where this role takes her and how she can flex her social work skills and fierce motherly advocacy for the CF community.

We say this every year, but this year it's truer than ever - there's still work to be done. With Medicaid cuts taking place across the nation, the CF community will most certainly feel the repercussions in available care, access to specialists, formulary medications, ancillary resources and more. More than 40% of the CF community relies on Medicaid coverage to fight the progressive nature of this multi faceted disease. These cuts also jeopardize the progress made in better managing this disease and working toward a cure. The CF Foundation is planning to step up and bridge this gap in care, but they cannot do it without your support. A donation to CFF supports accessible, affordable and holistic care for the entire CF community. Audrey and others with CF are Worthey of care and a cure! #untilitsdone