Lyndsey Schoem

My Great Strides Story

Eleanor was born with a genetic disease called Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and pancreas. This mucus traps bacteria, causing persistent infections and eventually a decline in lung function and respiratory failure. It also does not allow fat and nutrition to be absorbed into the body, causing difficulty maintaining a healthy weight and nutritional status. Because of these chronic symptoms, Eleanor must take enzymes with every meal, breathing treatments, and one hour of airway clearance via a vest that shakes her lungs every day.

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. Unfortunately Eleanor’s specific mutation does not allow her to take modulator treatments to help improve day to day function. With that being said, we would love your help to spread awareness about Cystic Fibrosis and raise funds to help find the path to a cure.

With supporters like you by our side, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation continues to lead the way in the fight against CF, fueling extraordinary medical and scientific progress. The life expectancy of someone born with CF has doubled in the last 30 years. Despite this progress, many people with CF do not benefit from existing therapies either because their disease is too advanced or because their specific genetic mutations will not respond. They are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, friends, and co-workers who struggle every day in the face of this devasting disease.

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.