Our Xtreme Hike Story

Olivia was a happy seven year old, playing with her siblings inside their families rec room after a long day at the hospital, when her parents received devastating news: their daughter has Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a terminal lung disease. She had always been the child with a runny nose and cough, but no one suspected what caused it.

From then on everything changed. The Simons packed up and moved from Wilmington, DE to the salty shores of Villas, New Jersey—four miles outside of Cape May—to implement a healthier quality of both air and life. The hospital visits became more frequent, Vests and nebulizer treatments became a daily and nightly routine, and the Simons family became closer than ever.

A couple years went by where the bulk of the disease was mostly apparent by the green PARI nebulizers and Vest machine, the size of a mini-fridge, stowed away in the kitchen cupboards after use. Everything became real when Olivia had a near-month long stay in DuPont hospital battling pneumonia after a routine scheduled Bronchoscopy, which left her teetering between life and death.

During this time a pipe burst, leaving the Simons family with no other option than to stay in a rental home while any potential bacteria was cleared out. This is the home Olivia was to return to after her hospital stay. The house was only a single story in order to accommodate Olivia’s fragile state. She couldn’t walk without wearing oxygen, she was less than 100lb’s and was struggling to do everyday activities. Still, she persevered.

This experience would normally take a lot out of someone, and it sure did take a lot out of Olivia. What it didn’t take is her determination to live a fulfilling life, work a full-time job, fall in love, and remain a fighter. Cystic Fibrosis did not deter her from traveling across the seas on a major cruise line or from climbing to the top of a lighthouse.

Please support us.

Having Cystic Fibrosis is not a choice; it is an incurable genetic disorder. Walk with us to make CF stand for Cure Found.

We dedicate our brand to Olivia.