Last year, I signed up for the Xtreme Hike alongside someone I love who lives every day with cystic fibrosis. At the time, I thought I understood what it meant to support someone with a chronic illness. After 30.2 miles on the Appalachian Trail, I realized I had only scratched the surface.

Xtreme Hike isn’t just a long walk in the woods. It’s hours of pushing through fatigue, discomfort, doubt, and moments where quitting feels logical. Watching Madison do that—while carrying the invisible weight of CF—changed me. When her legs turned to jelly around mile 20, quitting wasn’t an option. We crossed that finish line together, not because it was easy, but because it mattered.

Cystic fibrosis has shaped so much of her life. It took her brother, Bailey, at just four years old. It has meant hospital stays, treatments, uncertainty, and a strength most people will never have to develop. And yet, because of research funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, she’s able to live fully—hiking mountains, chasing her toddler, dreaming long-term dreams that once weren’t guaranteed.

I’m hiking again this year because CF doesn’t take a year off. Because progress only happens when people show up. And because if I can use my legs, my time, and my stubbornness to help move us closer to a cure, then I’m all in.

This hike is for everyone still fighting, for those we’ve lost, and for the families who live this reality every day. It’s also for love—showing up, staying, and pushing forward together.

Thank you for supporting this cause and being part of something that truly changes lives