Natalie Harding
Help us raise money to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis!!!
This cause is deeply personal to me in many ways. CF greatly impacted my life and my family growing up, as my cousin Jamie fought CF for 33 years. Despite her disease, she lived a full and passionate life, one in which she was able to have two children. Having children was a remarkable feat at the time for someone with CF. Growing up, I saw her strength and devotion to her family, alongside her many passions. We just wish the life-saving medicines that exist today had been available when Jamie was here.
In high school, I also had friends with family members who lived with and later passed from CF. For a rare disease, it has always felt heartbreakingly widespread in our community.
Now years later I have chosen a life partner who also has CF. Getting to know John, and his brother Paulie, has been incredible and eye-opening. Seeing firsthand how far treatments for CF have come is truly amazing. It is hard to put into words, but knowing that a disease once defined by a median life expectancy of infancy, then teenage years, to later mid adulthood and now extended into what is considered old age is astounding. Until I got to know John, I did not fully realize the "strides" that treatment for Cystic Fibrosis had taken.
Although CFTR modulators were not around for my cousin Jamie and so many others, I am incredibly grateful they exist today. I am grateful that John and Paulie are living healthy lives, ones that are not limited to young adulthood but ones that include future children and grandchildren, meaningful careers, and even retirement!!
It's important to note that current CFTR modulators are only effective for 90% of the population with CF. Ten percent are still waiting for their life-changing medication.
Please consider supporting this fundraiser and helping me reach my goal for a cause so important to me. Every donation supports the science that brings us closer to a future where everyone with CF has access to life-altering treatments (and someday a cure) and the chance to live a long, full life!! Thank you so much for supporting a cause that truly means the world to me!!!
This cause is deeply personal to me in many ways. CF greatly impacted my life and my family growing up, as my cousin Jamie fought CF for 33 years. Despite her disease, she lived a full and passionate life, one in which she was able to have two children. Having children was a remarkable feat at the time for someone with CF. Growing up, I saw her strength and devotion to her family, alongside her many passions. We just wish the life-saving medicines that exist today had been available when Jamie was here.
In high school, I also had friends with family members who lived with and later passed from CF. For a rare disease, it has always felt heartbreakingly widespread in our community.
Now years later I have chosen a life partner who also has CF. Getting to know John, and his brother Paulie, has been incredible and eye-opening. Seeing firsthand how far treatments for CF have come is truly amazing. It is hard to put into words, but knowing that a disease once defined by a median life expectancy of infancy, then teenage years, to later mid adulthood and now extended into what is considered old age is astounding. Until I got to know John, I did not fully realize the "strides" that treatment for Cystic Fibrosis had taken.
Although CFTR modulators were not around for my cousin Jamie and so many others, I am incredibly grateful they exist today. I am grateful that John and Paulie are living healthy lives, ones that are not limited to young adulthood but ones that include future children and grandchildren, meaningful careers, and even retirement!!
It's important to note that current CFTR modulators are only effective for 90% of the population with CF. Ten percent are still waiting for their life-changing medication.
Please consider supporting this fundraiser and helping me reach my goal for a cause so important to me. Every donation supports the science that brings us closer to a future where everyone with CF has access to life-altering treatments (and someday a cure) and the chance to live a long, full life!! Thank you so much for supporting a cause that truly means the world to me!!!
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