Pray for Conner and Josh!!! / USA Today Article about CF

I know I said I would post Lil' Chris' birthday pics soon, but I have more pressing things to talk about today, or should I say ask of you today....

Lil' Chris' CF buddy, Conner, is not doing well. He is only 7 years old and is withering away thanks to this awful disease known as Cystic Fibrosis. I know what some of you may be thinking..."But I thought the life expectancy was 37?? He is so young!" Yes, the AVERAGE life expectancy IS 37, but that doesn't mean that EVERY CFer will make it to 37 or close to 37. If fact, click here to read an article in the USA Today. It hit me hard when it said..."Only a few decades ago, children with CF seldom survived elementary school. Today, thanks to earlier diagnosis and improved treatments, 47% reach 18 or older. Most of the 400 deaths a year are among teenagers and young adults, according to the CF Foundation's registry."

I guess I should be happy that it has come so far, but I'm not. I want it to be longer! I want the percentage to be higher! I want my son and all CFers to live a LONG full life! I mean 47% reach 18 or older???? 18??? That's it??? I guess I have fallen into that trap of wanting to believe that my son and all CFers will live to AT LEAST 37, but it's just not so in most cases. It's hard to except that fact. What can I do to make a difference???....fundraise, fundraise, fundraise to help find a CURE!! I have done a fundraiser every month so far this year except this month. I took a month off. Now I feel guilty...am I letting my son down?? Am I letting all the other CFers down??? I know I don't raise that much money with my fundraisers compared to some, but I also know that every penny counts!! I'll be picking up fundraising again next month. Thank God for my awesome fellow Kohl's associates who help out so we can get that extra $500 each time!! Thank You to all of you!!

Since I have started blogging, I have watched, seen, read of 3 CF mom's go through the worst thing a mother should ever have to go through....watching their CF child suffer to death and not be able to do a darn thing about it. It breaks my heart. I can't imagine ever having to go through this...I pray that I never have to. I pray and think often of Haley's mom, Ethan's mom, and now Conner's mom.

So I ask of all my readers...please click here to visit Conner's mom's blog and send her some encouraging words and lots of prayer for the whole family. Also, please pray for Josh. He has had a recent decline in his health too, but is getting stronger and is bouncing back. Click here to visit his blog and to see his very touching video that gave me goosebumps watching it....it's called "The Honest Truth." Thank you Josh for speaking the honest truth and sharing your journey with us!!

Thank you everyone for all your prayers. WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR A CURE FOR CF!!

Praying for Conner and Josh,
M