Why We Do This -- Dedicated To Our CF children

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We have two very special reasons to assist in the effort to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Our family has been blessed with two very special children that were born with this disease.

Our grandson, Noah was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis on Christmas Eve, 2002. He was 6 months old. We had spent months trying to diagnose his failure to thrive. This news changed the entire family. We have all changed our priorities in life to give Noah the opportunity to grow up as happy and healthy as possible.

Noah takes enzymes before he can eat a morsel of food so his body will process the nutrients. He has an airway clearance system to help with the respiratory therapy. The vest inflates and then thumps him for 20 minutes twice a day. He takes a daily nebulizer treatment. Our family worries about every cold or infection he comes in contact with because he'll develop pneumonia easily.

If you meet Noah, you wouldn't know he had a life threatening disease. He is a happy, active 6 year old. But his Mom and Dad strives to give him a sense of being just another normal kid.

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Our first encounter with the disease was three decades ago through my husband's niece from a first marriage, Tracy Corun. Born on Christmas Day, 1968, Tracy was an exceptionally loving and courageous child that struggled every day with CF. Tracy was diagnosed at the age of 2. Her family learned to do the respiratory physical therapy (RPT) that was standard for the time. She spent hours every day being pounded on her chest and back to expel the thick mucus accumulating in her lungs. Colds and infections sent her to the hospital frequently.

Tracy wrote about her life in a story published in the local paper. Here's what she had to say.

"C/F is hard to live with. Can you imagine what we have to go through to live? (Physical therapy, a lot of coughing, getting sick easy, hospitals every six months, I.V.'s all the time in the hospital, flu shots every year and more and more needles and shots and a whole lot more. Eight pills with meals plus more with breakfast and supper, I take 12 pills and other medicine.) Please fight C/F."

Her mother was quoted in the same article (Tracy's obituary) as saying:
"What she wrote tells it all ... Maybe it will remind parents how lucky they are to have healthy children. If you are a parent of a child who has a chronic illness, then you are twice blessed because YOU HAVE A VERY SPECIAL CHILD. Just ask any parent." (Frederick News, June 17, 1977)

Sadly, Tracy passed away on June 15, 1977 at the age of 8, just after completing third grade. Her life and love affected all she met and she is missed and in our thoughts often.

The average lifespan of patients with Cystic Fibrosis was 8-12 years when Tracy passed away. Great advances have been made in the search for a cure for CF during the last 25 years. And it is our sincere hope that by the time Noah reaches adulthood the cure for this life-threatening disease will be found.

After Noah was diagnosed, our outlook and goals for life changed. We combined these new life goals and the talents of our family to give birth to Creative Fibers for CF. We are donating at least 15% of the proceeds from every item we offer to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and others doing research for a CF cure. These children are the reason I began this business. Everything I make carries thoughts of these children who have endured and will yet endure this genetic illness. Please remember that your purchase can make a difference. A portion of every item will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to aid in the research for a cure.

For more information, check out the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's website:
www.cff.org

We support Cystic Fibrosis Research