Lisa, Chris And Max Brungardt

Being parents of a child with cystic fibrosis (CF) mixes a strange combination of emotions and concerns. Our son was diagnosed with CF when he was less than a week old. He was life flighted from Fargo to Minneapolis Childrens hospital within 24 hours of birth. Our first concern upon hearing that he had CF was we didn’t want him to be the sick kid who sat in the corner and had no friends. We wanted him to have a normal life. We didn’t know anything about CF except it was fatal.

You look at our kid and you see a normal college student. And we want him to have a normal life. But, he won’t. There’s all the talk about life expectancy. It is a huge concern. It isn’t right for a parent to worry about out living a child. It’s not the natural order of things. Life expectancy is getting longer and longer, but is it still not long enough. We find it difficult to call our 20 year old son middle aged.

He doesn’t get to be a normal person. Normal people don’t take dozens and dozens of pills every day. They don’t have chest physiotherapy twice a day, taking up two to three hours a day. There are better things for him to do than be hooked up to machines. He should be out competing in sports and hanging out with friends. They shouldn’t have to worry about bringing pills with them so they can eat a snack or missing out on camping trips with friends, or overnights at friend’s houses. Our son shouldn’t worry about hospitalizations, blood draws, nuclear lung scans.

In summary, he should not have to worry about dying. When our son was 10 years old, he was sitting at the lake and he asked his dad if he was dying. Should any child ever need to worry about their own mortality? Not in any world we want to live in!

Kids are the ones who suffer the most. However, we worry about the progress of his CF. We fight with insurance companies to ensure he gets the medicines and treatments he needs. Our lawyer writes letters on his behalf. We're lucky we have the means to fight and pay. Many others don’t.

This is why fund-raising to find a cure for cystic fibrosis is important to our family, our son, and for everyone who knows anyone with CF. Great strides have been made in treatments and drugs. We’re getting so close to finding a cure. It’s our job to keep our son healthy enough to see this cure.

The potential to find a cure for CF is real. It’s within years. Hopefully, it’s within Max's lifetime. Advancements are coming fast and furious. The pipeline is full, but it takes funding to bring these drugs to the public. CF is an orphan disease and doesn’t affect enough people to be profitable for big pharma to invest. The only way new drugs and treatments get developed is by our fund-raising.

This is why we're involved!

Chris Brungardt & Lisa Sankey
Parents of a young man with CF
Fargo, North Dakota

Real progress has been made in the search for a cure, but the lives of people with CF are still cut far too short. There still is no cure for this devastating disease. By walking today, we are helping add tomorrows to the lives of people living with cystic fibrosis. Will you join us? Support us by making a donation to our Great Strides fundraising campaign today!

Great Strides is a fun, family-friendly event that raises awareness and support for people with CF and their families.

Please support us!

Help me reach our fundraising goal by donating to our Great Strides fundraising campaign. Your gift will help add tomorrows to the lives of people with cystic fibrosis by supporting life-saving research and medical progress. Your gift is 100-percent tax deductible.