Hello dear friends and family,

We are once again walking in Great Strides to raise money for better treatments and a cure for those with cystic fibrosis. Your support would mean the world to us - you will help us save the lives of those with this deadly and devastating disease, including our girl Abby.

But first, a little update about Abby. 2025 is a big year for her - she's graduating high school! In the fall, she will be starting a pre-college prep program in Long Beach before starting at community college in 2026. We are so proud of everything she's done and what we know she is capable of achieving. This step would not be possible without her good health, which we owe to her wonderful doctors and the great work of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Since 2019, Abby has been on a medication called Trikafta, which treats CF at the cellular level. She has experienced the healthiest years of her life. It’s allowed her to think bigger and better for herself. To have the freedom that health brings is a gift.

So why must we stride? As wonderful as Trikafta is, it is not a cure.  Abby still experiences significant GI issues that impact her weight and health. Her daily fight is now with her digestive system, which often brings a variety of pain and sometimes hospitalizations. She is also still doing an hour a day of breathing treatments and taking handfuls of pills to digest her food. She is still required to use a feeding tube at night to take in enough calories to survive.

For these reasons, we need a cure --we continue to stride until it's done for Abby. We also work towards a day when there are better treatments for the 10% of the CF population who don’t have a medication like Trikafta. We will leave no one behind. So, we also stride until it's done for our community.

The walk is on May 18 – please donate and if you are local please join us!  

Mike, Meghann, Abby and Dom Barloewen