This is my fifth year participating in the VA Xtreme Hike. This event is so emotional and inspiring, and I am thrilled to be able to do it again in 2025. I wish I had the words to express how much this event impacted me.  I feel so full of hope and know that Natalie has so much love and support from people she doesn't even know who are fighting for her and everyone with CF.

Natalie works so hard to stay healthy.  On any given day, she swallows 40-45 pills of all sorts of shapes and sizes and completes at least three airway clearance treatments, which involves wearing her vest for 21 minutes and nebulizing specialty medications designed to thin and move her sticky mucus so it doesn’t get trapped in her lungs. When she’s sick, which is too often in the winter, she’ll do airway clearance treatments four to five times a day until the bug is gone. In any given month, Natalie will spend one to two days just doing airway clearance treatments.

The CF Foundation provides much-need funding for life-saving research to improve and lengthen the lives of those living with Cystic Fibrosis. In addition to game-changing drugs like Trikafta, the CF Foundation is funding exciting research in the areas of gene therapy and gene editing to fix the root cause of CF.

These advancements were made possible because of generous contributions from you!! Words can’t express how grateful our family is for your support of our little girl.