Dear Friends and Family, 

Each year when we share this letter, we do so with gratitude–and with hope.  This year, our hearts are especially full because our family is celebrating something we once weren’t sure would ever be possible. Our baby girl is expecting a baby! Both Kelly and Brandon are absolutely overjoyed as they prepare to welcome this precious new chapter in their lives. Like ours, their hearts are full of excitement, love, and gratitude as they dream about the days ahead and the little life who is already so deeply loved. They are thrilled to be expecting a sweet baby boy in early July, who is already surrounded by so much joy and anticipation. 

For anyone who may be new to our mailing list this year, Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic, life-shortening disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system.  It requires daily treatments, medication, and constant monitoring. For many years, CF meant shortened lives and limited futures.  Dreams like adulthood, careers, and parenthood often felt out of reach. But, due to groundbreaking research and all of the advances made possible by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, everything has changed. 

Almost all of you reading this have watched Kelly grow up alongside this progress.  New therapies have literally transformed CF from a diagnosis defined by limitations into one where both hope and possibility are real. CF is still part of Kelly’s daily life along with CFRD (cystic fibrosis-related diabetes), but it no longer defines what she can dream or plan for. Watching her step into this season of motherhood has been both a beautiful and powerful reminder that research doesn't just extend life, it changes what life can look like.  

I recently had the privilege of accompanying Kelly to her most recent CF appointment at the Adult CF Clinic in Norfolk. The clinic is held in the same location as the pediatric CF clinic, which we have visited numerous times throughout Kelly’s many appointments over the years. Sitting there with her was incredibly moving, reflecting on Kelly’s journey and feeling so very grateful for how far she has come since her diagnosis at the age of just two years old. To witness where she started and where she is now, carrying a new life, was overwhelming in the most beautiful way, and it filled my heart with both thankfulness and pure joy.

As we prepare to welcome our grandson, Ken and I are overwhelmed with gratitude–for scientists who refused to stop searching, for Kelly’s medical team who walk alongside her and all CF patients, and for our amazing circle of friends and family whose generous donations over the last twenty-eight years have helped make these amazing advances possible.

And yet, our journey, Kelly’s journey with CF, isn’t finished. Several children and adults with CF aren’t able to benefit from current therapies. Treatments are still demanding. A cure is still very much needed. This is the reason why we continue to fundraise-so that every child born with CF has the same chance Kelly has been given, and so that one day no family will have to face this diagnosis at all. 

We are happy to announce that this year’s “Great Strides” event, along with the “Run to Breathe 5K”  will take place on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 9:00 am at The Dismal Swamp Canal Trail Park in Chesapeake, Virginia. You will find our team, “Kelly’s Angels,” there with our sneakers laced up and ready to walk/run for the cause! We would love for you to join us. Please reach out to me if you’d like to become a member of our team. It’s easy to sign up, and it’s always such a fun event!  

If you are unable to participate on event day and would like to donate, you may do so in one of two ways: make your check payable to “CFF” or “Cystic Fibrosis Foundation” and return it to me in the provided envelope by May 1st, or use this specific QR Code, which will take you directly to my fundraising page. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for continuing to stand with us, for believing in progress, and for being part of a story that now stretches into the next generation.

With Great Joy, 

~Tracey & Ken

    (Gigi & Papa)