Jessica Hinckle

This is my brother James. He loves cars, monster trucks, The Beatles, and macaroni and cheese. He likes pretending in his play kitchen and cooking spaghetti and pad thai for those he loves. He will warn you that the coffee is hot and tell you daily that he "loves you much." He has a love for life, an incredible sense of humor, and the biggest heart of any four year old boy I have ever met.

James also has Cystic Fibrosis.

CF causes a thick sticky mucus in his lungs and intestines. He struggles with every breath he takes and his body cannot properly absorb nutients from food without the assistance of pancreatic enzymes before every meal, for the rest of his life. Today at 4 years old, James takes over 700 pills a month, simply to aid in digestion. Additionally he does breathing treatments four times per day to help break up the mucus that is in his lungs. With weight gain being a struggle for much of 2017, our family opted to place a feeding tube into James' belly this past fall in order to give him night time feedings of upwards of 700 plus calories each evening while he sleeps.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is doing incredible work researching breakthrough treatments, and assists in getting affordable medications for James. Currently the average life expectancy of a CF patient is 41 years old which has increased substantially in the past 40 when CF patients often did not live long enough to reach elementary school age. However, there is still so much work to be done.

There are approximately 30,000 Americans living with cystic fibrosis. They are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, friends and co-workers who struggle every day just to breathe. I walk for them and hope you will support me in my efforts.

Real progress has been made in the search for a cure, but the lives of people with CF are still cut far too short. There still is no cure for this devastating disease. By walking today, I am helping add tomorrows to the lives of people living with cystic fibrosis. Will you join me? Support me by making a donation to my Great Strides fundraising campaign today!

Great Strides is a fun, family-friendly event that raises awareness and support for people with CF and their families.

Please support James.

Help me reach my fundraising goal by donating to my Great Strides fundraising campaign. Your gift will help add tomorrows to the lives of people with cystic fibrosis by supporting life-saving research and medical progress. Your gift is 100-percent tax deductible.

With love and gratitude,
Jessica