2025 CF Cycle for Life in HOT Utah
Courtney Schick
Fundraising for Utah CF Cycle for Life
Courtney Schick
This year I will join siblings, siblings in law, cousins and cousins in law and of course Warren in Utah for the Cystic Fibrosis Cycle for Life. My cousin Bob had the idea to make it a family affair, so Team Courtney will have the most members to date!
This past year I was reminded how grateful I am to have excellent lung function. I had a respiratory infection in April, and my lung function was much lower than normal. For a few days, whenever I was laying down, I was conscious of each breath because it took effort. I hadn't been sick like that for twenty years. The medications available to me are a large part in why it has been so long, and it is research funded primarily by the CF Foundation that produced these medications. Effortless breathing that allows you to be unaware of each inhale and exhale is not a reality for many of my fellow CFers. Once I was feeling better, I had a renewed appreciation for the challenge that limited lung function creates for many who live with CF.
A few weeks into recovering from being sick, I climbed Mt Baker, the volcano that dominates the skyline in Bellingham, with Warren and my sister. It was slow going, but I made it to the top, despite needing breaks every fifty steps as we ascended the 10,700 foot volcano. I did not remember feeling so winded while climbing it the previous year, but perhaps this was just the reality of getting older. However, two months later Warren and I climbed Mount Rainier which is 14,411 feet, and I felt great. It wasn't until around 13,000 feet that I felt the altitude was affecting me like it had on Mount Baker. I truly feel that without the medications I have access to, which allow me to exercise to my fullest potential, I would probably feel like I did on Mount Baker at this point in my life. My god mother reminded me on my birthday that I am a now a year older than my life expectancy when I was born. Hurray for that!
Please consider contributing to the CF Foundation to continue to fuel research to help all people living with CF breath effortlessly and climb their own proverbial mountains.
Thank you for your consideration.
With gratitude,
Courtney
The photo above is from the top of Mount Rainier. This past year I was reminded how grateful I am to have excellent lung function. I had a respiratory infection in April, and my lung function was much lower than normal. For a few days, whenever I was laying down, I was conscious of each breath because it took effort. I hadn't been sick like that for twenty years. The medications available to me are a large part in why it has been so long, and it is research funded primarily by the CF Foundation that produced these medications. Effortless breathing that allows you to be unaware of each inhale and exhale is not a reality for many of my fellow CFers. Once I was feeling better, I had a renewed appreciation for the challenge that limited lung function creates for many who live with CF.
A few weeks into recovering from being sick, I climbed Mt Baker, the volcano that dominates the skyline in Bellingham, with Warren and my sister. It was slow going, but I made it to the top, despite needing breaks every fifty steps as we ascended the 10,700 foot volcano. I did not remember feeling so winded while climbing it the previous year, but perhaps this was just the reality of getting older. However, two months later Warren and I climbed Mount Rainier which is 14,411 feet, and I felt great. It wasn't until around 13,000 feet that I felt the altitude was affecting me like it had on Mount Baker. I truly feel that without the medications I have access to, which allow me to exercise to my fullest potential, I would probably feel like I did on Mount Baker at this point in my life. My god mother reminded me on my birthday that I am a now a year older than my life expectancy when I was born. Hurray for that!
Please consider contributing to the CF Foundation to continue to fuel research to help all people living with CF breath effortlessly and climb their own proverbial mountains.
Thank you for your consideration.
With gratitude,
Courtney
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