Carolyn Vache

Dear Family & Friends,

It’s Great Strides time of year again!

As most of you know, our grandson, Greyson, has Cystic Fibrosis. He was diagnosed with CF at two weeks old and he began therapeutic treatments right away. Today Greyson is an active 7 ½ year old boy who loves going to second grade, doing tumbling at gymnastics and will again play little league baseball this spring. Greyson and his family just returned from a Make A Wish trip to Walt Disney World where he was treated like royalty by Mickey, Minnie and all their friends! It was an amazing time for their family!

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest national fundraising event is Great Strides, with walks being held throughout the United States! Great Strides Seattle is on Sunday, May 19th, 12 noon at Seattle Center.  We would love to have you join Team Super G for this easy walk. Last year Team Super G raised almost $18,000! And with your help we can do it again!

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s mission is to cure cystic fibrosis and raise awareness about this rare, genetic, life-shortening disease that makes it difficult to breathe. The Foundation leads the way in research and drug development. Nearly every Cystic Fibrosis drug on the market today has been researched and developed by the Foundation.

We just returned from the annual March on the Hill and CF Volunteer Leadership Conference in Washington DC where we advocated for issues affecting the CF community. We also heard about the many amazing drugs and therapies the CF Foundation is donating millions of dollars towards developing. This exciting and innovative research has been noticed by others in the medical research community and is being adapted for other diseases.

There are now approximately 40,000 Americans living with cystic fibrosis with an average life expectancy of 56 years old. They are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, friends, and co-workers who struggle every day just to breathe. Many of these people struggle on a daily basis to maintain their health, however with the development of the drug TriKafta major advancements have been made that have added years and improved the quality of life for many of those living with Cystic Fibrosis. Amazingly, the list of CF people needing lung transplants has diminished by more than three quarters! Young adults living with CF are now able to imagine a future where they will marry, have children, grow old and now need to plan for retirement! Sadly, about 10% of people with CF have nonsense genes for which there are no or very limited therapies. The CF Foundation is committed to finding a cure for all people that suffer from this disease.

We feel very fortunate that Greyson’s health has been very good this last year and his doctors from the CF Clinic at Seattle Children’s Hospital are pleased with his growth and continued good health.

Please join Team Super G and the CF Foundation in finding a cure to help all people with Cystic Fibrosis live longer, healthier lives and to pursue their dreams. Click on the link below to sign up for the walk. If you are unable to attend the walk and would like to support the CF Foundation, please consider a donation. Any amount will make a difference!

We’re looking forward to the day when CF stands for Cure Found!

Thank you,

Carolyn Vaché