My Great Strides Story
Jonathan Haslauer
Fundraising for New Orleans Great Strides
Jonathan Haslauer
April 8, 2025
Dear Friends and Family,
Tracy's son was born in the summer of 1999. That year, we learned our least favorite words, Cystic Fibrosis. Brendan was diagnosed with this genetic disease not long after he was born. At that time, the life expectancy of someone with CF was in the early 30’s; we were devastated. We began our own research to learn everything we could about CF including connecting with other families being affected by this disease. In our search, we learned about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We knew right way that we wanted to be a part of this organization. We were, and still are, 100% committed to being a part of this great organization, not only for our family but for all families who have a loved one who has been affected by CF. When we first became part of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and created our Great Strides Team, we named it – Brendan Bears. As the years went by and Brendan added candles to his birthday cakes, the CF Foundation was adding years to the life expectancy of CF patients. Each year, we added more walkers (and most importantly - dollars) to the Brendan Bears Great Strides Team.
In 2009, our family was complete when Bella was born. She, too, has Cystic Fibrosis. We were no longer just walking for Brendan. That year, our Great Strides Team became Brendan and Bella Bears. During the 10 years between when Brendan was born until the time Bella entered the world, the life expectancy had climbed to the late 30’s. We could see that our commitment and dedication, combined with thousands of others, was helping to raise the funds needed to continue CF research. We made a vow that we would continue our commitment to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and each year, continue to raise money so the research can continue to make advancements.
Brendan has been taking Trikafta for several years now. Trikafta has helped improve his overall pulmonary functions and other CF related medical issues. Incredibly, he is no longer required to be seen by a transplant specialist. Since Brendan was little, he has always had a fascination with planes. His fascination was with all aspects of planes, from building Lego models to doing flight simulations and now actually flying them. The past couple of years have been very exciting for Brendan. Two years ago, he transferred from UNO to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, FL. There Brendan has been studying for his Unmanned Systems Applications Degree. Even though Trikafta has had many positive results, it does have some side effects. There is still research needed to fix lung damage from his prior infections. This lung damage is the only thing that holds Brendan back from being a full-fledged pilot. Of course, he is thrilled to be able to pivot to Drone Piloting as this too has been a passion of his. We believe that with continued research, improvements will be made to Trikafta, as well as the potential reversal of existing lung damage in CF Patients such as Brendan. Words cannot express how proud we are of all his accomplishments. When we first learned about CF, 25 years ago, the medical side of things didn’t look like Brendan would be able to experience all that he has. His most recent accomplishments are just the beginning! We know that by the time we write our next update, Brendan will have so many more things that he was able to experience and more achievements that we will be able to share. We can’t wait to share these with everyone!
Bella is now a Sophomore at St. Mary’s Dominican High School in New Orleans. She has been thoroughly enjoying high school life at Dominican, attending many dances, and participating in community service events. Trikafta has been great for Bella’s CF related medical issues. She is now a very healthy 16-year-old. Trikafta helped Bella avoid the lung damage that many CF’ers are faced with by this age including her brother, Brendan. Even though Bella and Brendan have the same CF mutation, CF affects them very differently. Years ago, we dealt with constant lung infections and new bacteria when Brendan was young, but Bella’s CF effects are quite different. Some of Bella’s biggest CF ailments have been with her digestion. By taking Trikafta, it has helped with those digestion issues and Bella has been able to maintain a healthy weight. We know that as time goes on, things will only get better as research continues to improve Trikafta and other CF medications. Bella is now looking forward to her Junior and Senior years at Dominican as well as attending college (out of state, if you ask her, LOL). We know that now is an important time for her to grow, not only as a young adult but as she is starting to plan for her future.
This year marks our 25th Great Strides Walk! The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will not stop until life-saving drug therapies are found for ALL CF patients. We invite you to be part of our success by donating to our team or coming out to walk with us on Saturday, May 10th, at City Park. Registration for the walk is at 9am with the walk starting at 10am.
Jonathan B. Haslauer, Tracy Haslauer Novak and Beverly B. Haslauer
Dear Friends and Family,
Tracy's son was born in the summer of 1999. That year, we learned our least favorite words, Cystic Fibrosis. Brendan was diagnosed with this genetic disease not long after he was born. At that time, the life expectancy of someone with CF was in the early 30’s; we were devastated. We began our own research to learn everything we could about CF including connecting with other families being affected by this disease. In our search, we learned about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We knew right way that we wanted to be a part of this organization. We were, and still are, 100% committed to being a part of this great organization, not only for our family but for all families who have a loved one who has been affected by CF. When we first became part of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and created our Great Strides Team, we named it – Brendan Bears. As the years went by and Brendan added candles to his birthday cakes, the CF Foundation was adding years to the life expectancy of CF patients. Each year, we added more walkers (and most importantly - dollars) to the Brendan Bears Great Strides Team.
In 2009, our family was complete when Bella was born. She, too, has Cystic Fibrosis. We were no longer just walking for Brendan. That year, our Great Strides Team became Brendan and Bella Bears. During the 10 years between when Brendan was born until the time Bella entered the world, the life expectancy had climbed to the late 30’s. We could see that our commitment and dedication, combined with thousands of others, was helping to raise the funds needed to continue CF research. We made a vow that we would continue our commitment to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and each year, continue to raise money so the research can continue to make advancements.
Brendan has been taking Trikafta for several years now. Trikafta has helped improve his overall pulmonary functions and other CF related medical issues. Incredibly, he is no longer required to be seen by a transplant specialist. Since Brendan was little, he has always had a fascination with planes. His fascination was with all aspects of planes, from building Lego models to doing flight simulations and now actually flying them. The past couple of years have been very exciting for Brendan. Two years ago, he transferred from UNO to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, FL. There Brendan has been studying for his Unmanned Systems Applications Degree. Even though Trikafta has had many positive results, it does have some side effects. There is still research needed to fix lung damage from his prior infections. This lung damage is the only thing that holds Brendan back from being a full-fledged pilot. Of course, he is thrilled to be able to pivot to Drone Piloting as this too has been a passion of his. We believe that with continued research, improvements will be made to Trikafta, as well as the potential reversal of existing lung damage in CF Patients such as Brendan. Words cannot express how proud we are of all his accomplishments. When we first learned about CF, 25 years ago, the medical side of things didn’t look like Brendan would be able to experience all that he has. His most recent accomplishments are just the beginning! We know that by the time we write our next update, Brendan will have so many more things that he was able to experience and more achievements that we will be able to share. We can’t wait to share these with everyone!
Bella is now a Sophomore at St. Mary’s Dominican High School in New Orleans. She has been thoroughly enjoying high school life at Dominican, attending many dances, and participating in community service events. Trikafta has been great for Bella’s CF related medical issues. She is now a very healthy 16-year-old. Trikafta helped Bella avoid the lung damage that many CF’ers are faced with by this age including her brother, Brendan. Even though Bella and Brendan have the same CF mutation, CF affects them very differently. Years ago, we dealt with constant lung infections and new bacteria when Brendan was young, but Bella’s CF effects are quite different. Some of Bella’s biggest CF ailments have been with her digestion. By taking Trikafta, it has helped with those digestion issues and Bella has been able to maintain a healthy weight. We know that as time goes on, things will only get better as research continues to improve Trikafta and other CF medications. Bella is now looking forward to her Junior and Senior years at Dominican as well as attending college (out of state, if you ask her, LOL). We know that now is an important time for her to grow, not only as a young adult but as she is starting to plan for her future.
This year marks our 25th Great Strides Walk! The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will not stop until life-saving drug therapies are found for ALL CF patients. We invite you to be part of our success by donating to our team or coming out to walk with us on Saturday, May 10th, at City Park. Registration for the walk is at 9am with the walk starting at 10am.
Jonathan B. Haslauer, Tracy Haslauer Novak and Beverly B. Haslauer
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