My Team CF Story

My best friend died when I was a child. Here's what he taught me.

When I was boy, Jason, Melissa and I were inseparable. Then something horrible separated us forever.

Jason was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, a disease of the lungs, pancreas and other organs. He went from joyful boy to courageous kid fighting a disease he couldn’t beat. By 17 he was dead.

But his sister Melissa has a different story to tell. She also has CF. But she didn’t die at 17 or 27 or 37. She’s alive today at 51 with two amazing kids — one at Yale, the other with his eye on Tufts. She travels the country, including at Congress, to advocate for better care and better cures for CF. 

And that’s why I’m biking 65 miles this Sunday, to help raise money for her cause.

Over the years, the science has gotten better. For 90s kids, the median survival age was 30. Today it’s more than 50. That’s amazing, but still far less than any of us hope. And the road isn’t easy: hours of daily treatments;  compromised immune systems and big life events like having children bring risk of death.

Now for that life lesson Jason taught me. Despite an impossible challenge, he never gave up, never lost his goofy smile. He went down fighting. So help me raise a few dollars to help future Jasons fight a little longer.