We’re coming up on our third Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis and the beginning of Colin’s third year of life with this disease. We pray for a better year and we really need your help to provide a better life for him, a life without this disease. You can't tell Colin has CF by looking at him and if I didn't tell you, it might be years before you knew. CF is a degenerative lung and digestive disease and over time, it will get worse until the lungs just fail. There currently is no cure. The disease is too small for pharmaceutical companies to invest time and money on. It’s not cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, but the end result is the same. We are the only way this disease is going to be cured. The money has to come from us. Some say that a cure is less than a decade away. Say you were a part of it.
People close to us who hear about Colin and other CF stories are realizing what a blessing it is to have healthy children. Colin will turn two on April 23. Unfortunately for him, he’s had a rougher two years and more time in the hospital than most kids will have in a lifetime. In just the past year, he’s made three trips to the hospital for bowel obstructions and stomach problems resulting from infections. He received a new mechanical chest percussor to vibrate out mucus built up in his lungs as the result of his winter infections. This is in addition to the two to three hours a day of treatments, chest therapy, and medications he already receives while other kids are out playing. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a clean chest x-ray in May. The winter was long, he was on antibiotics four times. We were also told that he wasn’t gaining any weight and if he didn’t, we’ll be looking at a feeding tube in his future. With monthly shots to protect him against viruses and the numerous IVs he’s had, he’s completely afraid of his doctors.
Colin is an amazing little boy who couldn’t be happier when he’s feeling good. But when he’s sick, it’s like having a completely different child. Even after all he’s been through, he is the kindest, most thoughtful little boy you’ll ever meet. He’s always sharing and you can never just give him one piece of candy, he always needs one for his sisters as well. Hearing him say “thank you” will just melt your heart. He loves playing outside on his playset and with his trucks.I know I have asked many of you before and guaranteed, I will ask you again. Colin and 30,000 other kids with CF really need your help.
Go to this site now and sign up to walk on June 25th. Even if you can't walk the distance or just aren't a big walker, come to the walk and cheer us on. It's a great time whether you walk or not. Either way, go to this site and sign up. (Or call us at 630-548-9634 and we’ll sign you up.)
http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/find_a_walk_site/index.cfm
Select IL and then select Naperville, fill out your info, then select Colin's Clan as the team.
Please include “Colin’s Clan” in the memo of any checks.
If you are coming to the walk, you can bring donations with you. If you can’t make it to the walk, a donation can be made online at this site or let me know and I’ll pick it up from you.
Your cancelled check will serve as your receipt for a deduction on your taxes. Also, please make sure to ask your company if they provide matching funds. Many companies will match your donation to CFF by one, two, or even three times. It's "free" money going to a great cause. This isn’t technically a “walk-a-thon” or an event where you need to sponsor a walker. You are simply making a donation to CFF. This is an important point when talking to your HR department as many exclude “walk-a-thons” when matching a donation. And please, any amount is great and truly makes a difference.
If for some reason you just can't donate, you can still help Colin in two ways: pass this letter along to your friends and pray for Colin and every other child with CF. It's free and we can never get enough.
When we recently told our four year old we were going to a fundraiser to “find a cure” for CF, her reply was, “Where is the cure?” Someday soon, I’d like to be able to tell her we finally found it.
Finally, we want to offer a huge thanks to everyone who has donated their time, their money, and their support already this year. It's been a long year and we couldn't have done it without support. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has events all year long: golf, bowling, wine events, runs and walks, poker, you name it. Raising money will keep going until there’s a cure. Thank you for everything you have done for Colin and every other child with CF.
We look forward to seeing you registered for the walk and can't wait to see you. The entire day is a great time....DJ, snacks, lunch. After the walk, everyone is invited to our house (around 2:00 pm) for more food, drinks, music, and fun. We want all of you to come to Colin’s house and party. Please email us back to let us know how many will be attending for the food count. Also, if you are walking, let us know shirt size, we have new Colin’s Clan shirts.
PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO FRIENDS.
Chris, Trisha, Allison, Megan, and Colin
chris@curecfnow.com
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