Philip Reiter

Hello Friends & Family,

As is my usual rite of Spring, I am reaching out to you to raise awareness and financial support for the upcoming Great Strides Walk to Cure Cystic Fibrosis. This year, the Rochester walk will be taking place Saturday, May 11th at Three Links Park.

Trikafta, a miracle drug for most of us with CF, has been around for about 4.5 years and continues to be life-changing for me. My health has been so much more consistent; the good days far outnumber the bad days, and the bad days are not nearly as bad as they were before Trikafta. As I am sure I have mentioned in past letters, this has positively changed how I think about and plan the years ahead.

Unfortunately, there is still about 10% of the population that has CF gene mutations that Trikafta doesn’t help. Others have had to stop using Trikafta as their kidneys or livers would no longer tolerate the medication. The funds that are raised via the Great Strides Walk will continue to help the CF Foundation pursue new therapies and technologies that will hopefully work for the entire CF population. Some of these therapies involve gene editing. This is very exciting research and may be the key to truly curing CF!

On a more personal level, my family and I are doing very well. Brooklyn (7) and Natalie (3) keep us busy most of the time. We especially enjoy going to the farm on the weekends to work with and ride our horses. I am grateful that we have found a hobby that we all enjoy and allows us to spend a lot of quality time together. Jenna is still a nurse at Mayo and enjoys working in the Pulmonary outpatient area. I just celebrated 20 years as a Wealth Management Advisor with Northwestern Mutual. It wasn’t lost on me how cool that is considering when I was born, it was pretty far-fetched to think a person with CF would have a 20-year (and counting) career.

Take care,

Phil, Jenna, Brooklyn, & Natalie Reiter