National Team: Strolling for Sarah

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for taking the time to visit my Great Strides page. This is our seventh year walking for Great Strides and our fifth year as a national team. In this time Sarah has grown into an amazing first-grader who is passionate about animals, and loves boogie boarding and “body surfing” – which for her means flopping face-down into the surf and hanging there just long enough to give me a heart attack before popping up again and looking for another wave.

These days, when I ask Sarah what she wants to be when she grows up, she says she wants to be a veterinarian. However, she loves watching shows about wild animals on TV, so I wonder if she may end up as a zoologist or wildlife biologist. At the moment she mostly cares for her vast collection of plush animals and has a special bond with our golden retriever Cooper.

We are told that CF kids Sarah's age should have an average life expectancy in the mid-30s. This achievement is remarkable given that 60 years ago most kids like Sarah didn't make it to kindergarten. I am sure her goals and dreams will change many times over the years, but my hope is for her to be able to pursue those dreams, whatever they may be.

There still is no cure for this devastating disease, but the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has partnered with biotech companies like Vertex Pharmaceuticals that are working to identify new medications that can help correct the underlying defect that causes CF. One of Sarah's mutations is the most common CF mutation, so the drugs currently in clinical trials hold real promise for her. They may not make her "normal" but they can make her a little stronger, and they prove that it's possible to find better drugs that may help her someday track lions in the savannah or care for kittens in the clinic. 

Please help Sarah by joining us on team Strolling for Sarah. Your company on the walk would mean so much. The Champaign walk is on May 7. If you can't be there please consider supporting a walker on our team. We are helping add tomorrows to the lives of people living with Cystic Fibrosis!

Thank you

Rachel