Emily, Rob, Maia And Phoebe Bloom/Wilson

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you so very much for your incredible support of our Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides walks over the years! (And welcome to new friends!). 

We’re asking for your support once again because Abby Barloewen, the amazing daughter of our good friends Mike and Meghann (and the 2023 Great Strides Ambassador for Orange County!!), still has cystic fibrosis (CF), a devastating genetic disease that can make every breath a struggle. Our team, Abby's Army, is participating in the 2023 walk THIS SATURDAY.

The Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation was started by a group of parents in the 1950s who refused to accept that their children were dying before they could finish kindergarten. Since then, primarily due to research and funding from the CF Foundation, the life expectancy for people diagnosed with CF has increased from just 6 years of age to over 50. While that’s promising news for Abby, who recently turned 16, it’s simply not enough.

For the last few years, Abby has been on a groundbreaking medication called Trikafta, which treats CF at the cellular level and offers the possibility of a more normal life than her parents could have imagined for her when she was born. Since starting on this medication, Abby has seen incredible weight gain and increase in lung function and has experienced the healthiest years of her life. 

But as wonderful as Trikafta is, it’s not a cure, and Abby had to be hospitalized last year with serious GI issues related to her CF. She still spends an hour every day doing breathing treatments, still has to take handfuls of pills just to digest her food, and still uses a feeding tube at night to take in enough calories to survive. And unfortunately, 10% of the CF population still has no effective treatment to help correct the basic defect of CF. 

Every donation, no matter how small, makes a difference in the fight against Cystic Fibrosis, improving the lives of those affected by this disease and bringing us one step closer to finding a cure. 

Thank you again for your help--it means so much to us and to Abby and her family. 

With gratitude,
Emily, Rob, Maia and Phoebe

P.S. Please check if your company offers matching donations -- many do!