Seth Gregory
I’m Seth Gregory. I’m 43 years old and have Cystic Fibrosis. On September 19, 2026, I will be racing Ironman Maryland. It will be my first attempt at a full distance Ironman: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. I will have 17 hours to complete the it. I am doing this to challenge myself and celebrate the amazing gift of health that God gave me in that started with a new medicine in 2019, while also fundraising and raising awareness for Cystic Fibrosis and the CF Foundation. My race is dedicated to my close friend Ashley, who lost her life after a long battle with CF in 2024, as well as my other close friends who are also living with CF: Micah, Katie, and Emily. We bonded, through zoom meetings, during the Covid pandemic as we were all isolating at home to try to stay healthy.
Before November 18th, 2019, my health was declining. I had made my health my full-time job, for about the last 7 years to try to maintain as much lung function as possible until a new medicine came along. Every day was the same thing: breakfast, breathing treatment, lunch, exercise, breathing treatment, dinner, walk, breathing treatment, sleep and sometimes another treatment about 3am. My goal was to clear out as much mucus as I could so I could keep myself out of the hospital. In 2018 I started having hemoptysis (coughing up blood). In August of 2019, I had my worst hemoptysis event and had to receive a bronchial artery embolization. I was still having bouts after and thought I might have to get another embolization, but…..Trikafta was approved in October, and I took my first dose on November 18th. It changed my life forever. Within one day, the super thick mucus I had been experiencing for my entire life, became thin and throughout the week I cleared the old excess thick mucus out. In one month I gained 5lbs and went from 43% lung function to 55% lung function. I kept improving as time went on and in January of 2020, I convinced my friends to sign up for a Spartan, in celebration of my new health. The mucus burden I had everyday dropped to almost zero. I went from 4 to 5 treatments a day, down to 3 treatments a day and could run a mile without walking. I was no longer battling hemoptysis; my blood markers were all becoming healthier. The first Spartan race didn’t happen until 2021 due to Covid, but we did it! Since then, I have also gotten into triathlons. I never dreamed I would be able to do an endurance sport, but here I am…. I finished my 1st complete Half Ironman in Waco last October!
I’m now about 17lbs heavier, have about 60% lung function and am able to work part-time. While I still do 3 treatments a day, have a chronic lung infection, and exercise 5 to 7 days a week to keep my lungs healthy; this life is a celebration that God has given me! I still have my battles including a 10 days stay in the hospital this past January after battling the flu for 8 days, but I have been able to spend a lot more time with my family and friends who have been with me through the ups and downs. The CF Foundation is instrumental in researching and funding new medicines, like Trikafta, which has led to my current medication, Alyftrek.
While this medicine helps about 85-90% of us who have CF, there are still many whom this medication cannot help due to their specific mutation or side effects. They will need much more advanced medications to even have the chance at the results I have had. Others are also battling other Cystic Fibrosis challenges like CF-related diabetes and CF liver disease. The CF Foundation will not stop until we have a permanent cure for everyone.
Would you like to join the fight, help us make CF stand for Cure Found!?!
Before November 18th, 2019, my health was declining. I had made my health my full-time job, for about the last 7 years to try to maintain as much lung function as possible until a new medicine came along. Every day was the same thing: breakfast, breathing treatment, lunch, exercise, breathing treatment, dinner, walk, breathing treatment, sleep and sometimes another treatment about 3am. My goal was to clear out as much mucus as I could so I could keep myself out of the hospital. In 2018 I started having hemoptysis (coughing up blood). In August of 2019, I had my worst hemoptysis event and had to receive a bronchial artery embolization. I was still having bouts after and thought I might have to get another embolization, but…..Trikafta was approved in October, and I took my first dose on November 18th. It changed my life forever. Within one day, the super thick mucus I had been experiencing for my entire life, became thin and throughout the week I cleared the old excess thick mucus out. In one month I gained 5lbs and went from 43% lung function to 55% lung function. I kept improving as time went on and in January of 2020, I convinced my friends to sign up for a Spartan, in celebration of my new health. The mucus burden I had everyday dropped to almost zero. I went from 4 to 5 treatments a day, down to 3 treatments a day and could run a mile without walking. I was no longer battling hemoptysis; my blood markers were all becoming healthier. The first Spartan race didn’t happen until 2021 due to Covid, but we did it! Since then, I have also gotten into triathlons. I never dreamed I would be able to do an endurance sport, but here I am…. I finished my 1st complete Half Ironman in Waco last October!
I’m now about 17lbs heavier, have about 60% lung function and am able to work part-time. While I still do 3 treatments a day, have a chronic lung infection, and exercise 5 to 7 days a week to keep my lungs healthy; this life is a celebration that God has given me! I still have my battles including a 10 days stay in the hospital this past January after battling the flu for 8 days, but I have been able to spend a lot more time with my family and friends who have been with me through the ups and downs. The CF Foundation is instrumental in researching and funding new medicines, like Trikafta, which has led to my current medication, Alyftrek.
While this medicine helps about 85-90% of us who have CF, there are still many whom this medication cannot help due to their specific mutation or side effects. They will need much more advanced medications to even have the chance at the results I have had. Others are also battling other Cystic Fibrosis challenges like CF-related diabetes and CF liver disease. The CF Foundation will not stop until we have a permanent cure for everyone.
Would you like to join the fight, help us make CF stand for Cure Found!?!
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