Ashley Smith

My Great Strides Story

Sweet Josie , our perfect little angel baby, was diagnosed with Cystic fibrosis at 20 weeks in utero. As a parent, it is your worst nightmare to find out that your child will be born with an incurable, rare disease. It is also rare to find out your child has CF before they are born, but God was watching out for our girl because at 36 weeks she was emergency  induced for a critical complication of CF that led to two major abdominal surgeries and 61 days in children’s hospital NICU. Needless to say, it was the hardest 61 days of our lives, but Josie, from day one, has proven time and time again to be the toughest little girl. After getting through her bumpy beginning, she is thriving! We have learned so much about this disease in the last year and are so encouraged and confident about all the treatments already available and the strides that are being taken to find a cure for CF. This is not the disease it once was, and although thankful Josie’s diagnosis is one that responds to some pretty amazing, breakthrough medication’s , we will not be satisfied until there is a cure. 

We are proud to be apart of such a wonderful community and we want to do everything we can to help fund the efforts in finding a cure for CF. If you are able to make a donation in honor of Josie we would so greatly appreciate it

God has shown us every step of the way with Josie how faithful he is, even on our toughest days. I am so blessed to be Josie’s mom. I truly believe there will be a cure in her lifetime and we are so proud to be apart of it. 

Cystic fibrosis affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. The symptoms can vary from person to person, and as people with CF live longer than ever before, their disease can become more complicated, leading to serious health issues.  

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has made extraordinary progress — including fostering the development of more than a dozen CF treatments — but these treatments are not a cure and not everyone can benefit from them. We must keep going.

Your support makes a difference.

By donating to my fundraising goal, you will help advance our mission for a cure for all. Please consider joining us and helping make CF stand for Cure Found.