Our old CF Commercial that plays on MCTV. Still working on this years.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo Book Tip: Create an adventurous travel photo album at Shutterfly.com.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Garage Sale/CF Bake Sale Results

THANK YOU EVERYONE who bought something at our garage sale and the CF Bake Sales a week ago!! We raised about $400 for a CURE for CYSTIC FIBROSIS!!! WOOHOO!!!
 
BIG THANK YOU TO OUR AWESOME NEIGHBORS for doing the CF Bake Sale to help raise money for CF!!! You guys are always such big supporters!! We can't thank you all enough!!!
 
I also got some Loyal Customers and 10 leads for my new It Works company!! A portion of all of my It Works sales goes towards a CURE for CF too!! If you want to try those crazy wrap things, let me know!! We have lots of other all natural products too!! My website is www.wraps4cf.com and we are not limited to just the US:) If you have any questions, you can email me through my website at the bottom:) So thankful for this company since my husband lost his job! I esp love that it's all natural products and that it is a Christian based company:)
 
Thanks again everyone!!
M



Thursday, May 29, 2014

5th Annual CF Walk Results

WOW, I have so many people to thank, I don't know where to begin...;)

First off, BIG THANK YOU to all who walked with us and helped get donations for A Cure 4 Lil' Chris and all who suffer from Cystic Fibrosis!!! So many of you have brought tears to my eyes with your dedication to raising the much needed money for a CURE and longer life for my son. So many of your friends and family have so generously donated even though they don't know us. I will be forever grateful to YOU and THEM!!! Every penny gets us closer and closer to a CURE!!

THANK YOU...
David and Debbie C. (raised over $1,000!! AWESOME JOB, the most EVER from a team walker!!:)
Kevin and Jessie W.
Deb and Mike W.
Stacy W.
Kristin K.
Ashleigh and Cody S.
Andrea and John S.
Lynnette and Jillian C.
Miller Family
Gail R.
Butler Family
Spencer H.
Josh W.
Cody S.
Robbie and Jamie
Rosie C. and family
Morgan, Ella, and family


BIG THANK YOU to those who have donated towards my team, A Cure 4 Lil' Chris!! I know most of you live very far away and can't make it to our walk, but I'm so grateful for your support and generous donations to help end Cystic Fibrosis!!
THANK YOU...
Barb N. (Thanks for my first ever reoccurring monthly donation!!:)
Steve, Danielle, Cara, Eva, and Rafe S.
Al and Nancy S.
Aunt Mar
Centeno Family
Dad
Aunt Donna and Uncle Jerry
David and Elizabeth Harcus
Mom
Paul and Kim S.(made my birthday with their donation:)
Rachel P.
Stacy W.
Carol S.
Holly S. (Thanks for doing your party to raise money for CF!!)
Tiffany L.

BIG THANK YOU to the business sponsors I got this year! We are soooo grateful that your business would help support our great cause!!
THANK YOU...
Kohl's ($5,000)
Sprint Preferred Wireless($500)
Anonymous Sponsor($250)
Verizon on Cleveland Rd($125)
Wayne Savings Bank($125)
The Borelli Agency
Alice Noble Ice Arena
MCTV
Sign Design Wooster
Dominos
McDonald's
Panera Bread
Jimmy John's
Woo's Brew
Speedway for ice
Everyone who made cookies
Pat Catan's
Wooster Fire Dept
Samaritan Care
The Cat's Meow
Dr. Dave

I gotta thank my AMAZING team at Kohl's for doing all my CF fundraisers throughout the year and for coming to our walk! I can't thank you guys enough for all the support and for helping us raise $5,000!!
THANK YOU...
New Philly Kohl's for driving all the way to Wooster to our walk:)
Scott
Dorrice
Ramona
Sarah
Rachel P
Devin
Jolleen
Laura
Claire
Jen M
Jen E
Stacie M
and I'm sure many more that helped out at one point or another with my fundraisers:)
 

I'd like to thank our AWESOME Wooster Christian School Team that walked with us too...
THANK YOU...
Mr. Claes
Mrs. Falkenberg and family
Mrs. Curtis and family
Jillian and family
Tripp and family
Alexis and family

BIG THANK YOU to Mrs. Falkenberg(Ayla's teacher) and Mrs. Buehler(Lil' Chris' teacher) for collecting change for CF over the past few months in the classrooms!! And BIG THANK YOU to all the kids who brought their change in to help support a cure for Lil' Chris!! We are very thankful to you all!! Wooster Christian School is the BEST!!!!

Our whole walk was a HUGE success and so much fun!! We had about 200 walkers!! WOOHOO!!We had 8 different teams!!  All together, the teams brought in about $5,000 to the walk!! Together with what was raised online with all the teams, and what was brought in, and what will be coming in soon, it totals to about $28,409!!!! That's AWESOME!!! The most our walk has EVER done!! BIG THANK YOU to all the teams for raising so much!!

Our A Cure 4 Lil' Chris team brought in $10,195 so far!!! OUTSTANDING!!! THANK YOU ALL!!! We will still be collecting donations until Sept, so hopefully we can do some more fundraisers and hit $30,000!! THANK YOU EVERYONE SOOOOO MUCH!!! I'm sorry if I didn't get to talk to everyone at the walk...as you could see, it's kind of a crazy day for me making sure everything runs smoothly;) Our CF Northern Ohio Chapter, which is a total of 7 different walks, raised a total of $652,108!!! I smell a cure coming!!:)
 BIG THANKS to the Lord for the beautiful weather and no rain!! Thank You for answering our prayers, b/c it was supposed to rain that day.


We are having a big community garage sale this Sat from 8am-4pm and everything sold from our house will go towards a CURE for CF!! The other houses in our neighborhood are selling baked good for CF!! We just love our neighbors:) They have always been such big supporters of Lil' Chris!!
 
 

I started a new business called It Works! They are those crazy skinny wraps that everyone is talking about that work in just 45 minutes:) I tried them, and they ACTUALLY DO WORK!! So, I decided to spread the word about them to help out other people. I will be selling them at my garage sale too, and a percentage will go towards a cure for Cystic Fibrosis!! I originally started this company with intent to have all my commission go towards CF, but then my husband ended up losing his job 10 days later, so not all will go towards CF, but most of it will:) Come see me if you want to try one!! Message or email me for address lilcmom@gmail or you can order straight from my website www.wraps4cf.com. I've been doing pretty well, b/c the results sell the products, not me:) If you'd like to join my team and be debt free, let me know. It's only $99 to join and you get a box of wraps that you can sell for $100...so you earn your money right back!! Now is the time to join, b/c this company is skyrocketing, esp with Summer approaching:)

I'm sure I forgot about someone to thank, but please know that we GREATLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE and EVERY PENNY RAISED!!!!

We hope to see everyone again at our walk next year!!!
M
PS. Lil' Chris didn't have the best last CF clinic apt. He didn't gain any weight, CFers need to eat lots of calories to stay healthy. He has his annual CF clinic apt this coming Wed, so I will let you know how it goes. Pray for great results all around, b/c our Make A Wish trip is coming up soon!!! YEA!!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

What to Expect at our CF Walk

I'm soooo excited for our big Cystic Fibrosis Walk tomorrow!!! I've got everything all packed and ready to go!! Here is a pic of most of the prizes that we will be giving away to our walkers...
Lil' Chris wanted to get in the pic:) LOL

He had his first baseball game today!! He hit the ball 3 times!! Go Chris!!! Here he was all ready to go!! :)

 
So I thought I would go over what to expect at the walk tomorrow for those who have never attended before(CF parents, please share/tag this with your teammates)...

-Nate from the CF Foundation will be there in the beginning helping us get set up, then he will have to leave to go to another walk. Say Thank You to him if you get a chance:)
-Try to get there at 11am, because that's when most of our entertainment will be arriving. The kids can explore the Fire truck, the Ambulance, make a craft at the Pat Catan table, get a balloon animal made, meet Casper the Cat(if weather is good), and get their hair sprayed with some color:) The gold glitter one is for our CFers only, so we can tell them apart. CFers can't be near each other because of the risk of cross-contamination, so they will have to take turns at each station and sanitize thoroughly afterwards. We will need everyone's help keeping them separated.

-As soon as you get there, go to the registration table to check-in and to make your donation or to turn in any money that you have raised. Be sure to put each walkers name on their own raffle ticket for a chance to win a prize!!! They will give you a ticket to get your free CF Shirt if you raised over $100!! Then go to the shirt table to pick it up!
-Next, check-in with your team leader and go explore the entertainment and have fun!! Don't forget to grab a bagel or fruit and some coffee courtesy of Panera Bread and Woo's Brew's!!
-At 11:45 I suggest all the teams go to their team leader to take a team picture:)
-At 11:50 I will start the announcements. I will announce the sponsors and we may do a group picture if we can. Then the walk will begin at noon.
-At noon you walk 2 laps around and then head back to the pavilion for some pizza, chips, snacks, cookies, and water/soda/juice. Bathrooms will be open by the soccer fields.
-When your done eating, check the prize table to see if you won anything! :)
-Then you can check out the entertainment one last time before they leave. Be sure to thank them for donating their time to be with us!! :)
-I will not make any other announcements, so you will be free to go whenever you like:)

I still need some volunteers for the following, so let me know...
-someone to come early at like 10:30 to put the arrow signs up around the walking path
-be in charge of the food and drinks(keeping it full and handing out the pizza)
-do the color hair spray
-someone to make sure the entertainment gets food and drink(I always forget:)
-someone to take pictures

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE ATTENDING OUR WALK FOR A CURE FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS!!! TOGETHER, WE WILL MAKE CF STAND FOR CURE FOUND!!!

See me or your team leader if you have any questions. Thanks again for all the money you have raised!! See you tomorrow at 11am at Ida Sue School pavilion 266 Oldman Rd, Wooster!!!

If you can't make the walk but would like to still make a donation, click here to donate to your team!!
M

Friday, May 2, 2014

Update on our Walk / Cat's Meow


 Front
Back

Guess what??? Casper the Cat from The Cat's Meow will be at our walk this Sunday if the weather is good!! YEA!! The Cat's Meow is also selling a special CF product in their store this WHOLE YEAR where a percentage of each of it's sales will go towards a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!! Isn't that AWESOME!! Every CF home needs one of these! Click here to order one today... https://www.catsmeow.com/

The walk is this Sunday at 11am at the pavilion by Ida Sue School and it's not too late to register to walk or to donate!! Click here... http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/GreatStrides/104_Northern_Ohio_Cleveland?px=1442439&pg=personal&fr_id=2280 I am personally at $3,025 on a goal of $5,000!! We can do it!!! We will be taking donations for this years walk up until about September, then we start to switch over for next years walk:)

And other good news, Jimmy John's is donating a 15 piece tray of sandwiches for our walk!! YEA!! AND Woo's Brew's is donating coffee!! YEA!!:) If you would like to see what else we are going to have at our walk, click here for my last post or click "older post" at the bottom.

Thanks so much everyone who keeps spreading the word about our walk and for posting my Great Strides link!! We've had such GREAT teamwork this year!! Our team has raised over $5,000!!! WOOHOO!!! That's mostly all thanks to friends and family who keep reposting my link or my blog!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!! :)

Hope to see you Sunday at 11, b/c all our entertainment will be there starting at 11!!
M

Sunday, April 27, 2014

ONE WEEK til our CF WALK!!!!


Only ONE WEEK until our 5th Annual Great Strides Walk for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!! I'm so excited!! I can't wait!! If you haven't registered yet or donated, it's not too late!! It's on Sun May 4th, check-in is at 11 and the walk begins at noon at 266 Oldman Rd Wooster. Click this link to sign up under a team that you know(my team is A Cure 4 Lil' Chris;)...http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR?pg=teamlist&fr_id=2280 Our new walker this year has passed me! They have raised more money than me at this point...that's AWESOME!! WAY TO GO McKenna's Maniac's!!! I'm not done yet though;p LOL

Here is what we are going to have food wise this year:
-Dominos Pizza
-McDonalds Happy Meals
-Panera Bread bagels
-Chips
-Buehler's fruit
-Water
-Soda
-Lemonade
-Cookies for dessert:)

Here is what we are going to have entertainment wise:
-Wooster Fire Truck
-Samaritan Ambulance
-Pat Catan's Craft Table
-Colored Hair Spray(CFers will be identified by having glitter spray in their hair along with purple or another color:)
-Dr. Dave the Science Guy will be making balloon animals:)

Here are just some of the prizes we will be pulling raffle tickets just for coming to the walk and donating:)
-2-Free 12oz cup of Frozen Yogurt at OH-YO's
-6-$5 Gift Card to Donatos
-2-$10 Gift Certificate to The Parlor Restaurant
-$25 Gift Certificate to El Campasino
-3-Free hair cut at Great Clips
-3 month membership certificate at Curves
-4-Free small combo at Arby's
-11-Buffalo Wild Wings scratch cards
-2-Akron Rubber Ducks Tickets
-4-One Large Pizza at Pizza Hut
-Free oil change at Wooster Lube Express
-$25 gift card to Staples
-$20 gift certificate to The First Amendment Public House Restaurant
-4-2 free items at Taco Bell
-Free bread once a week for a year at Panera Bread:)
-200-free small kiddie cup of frozen yogurt at Kate's Diner:)

And of course, you will get a free Great Strides T-shirt for a donation of $100 or more!! :)

We are working on getting a Hot Air Balloon, a DJ, and some more prizes:) It's going to be a lot of fun, so bring the whole family and don't forget to wear your walking shoes and sunscreen! Pray for great weather!

BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE WOOSER BUSINESSES THAT HAVE SPONSORED US THIS YEAR!!! WE ALL GREATLY APPRECIATE IT!!! :)

BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED SO FAR!!! YOU ARE HELPING US GET CLOSER AND CLOSER TO A CURE!!! WE WILL ALWAYS BE FOREVER GRATEFUL!!
Thanks,
M

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Canton Great Strides Commercial 2014


Here is the Canton Great Strides Walk commercial my hubby made!! It'll play on MCTV in Massillion until the walk day!! It's on Sat May 3rd at 9am at McKinley High School if you can make it!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH MCTV FOR PLAYING BOTH OUR WOOSTER AND CANTON COMMERCIALS!!! You're the BEST:)

Please share!! Awareness is KEY to a CURE!!!
Thanks,
M

Friday, April 11, 2014

Make A Wish!!!

I was going to blog about the exciting things we are going to have for our walk and to thank those who have donated and signed up to walk with us so far, but....I HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE!!!!!!!

Lil' Chris has been approved for his wish to be granted from the Make A Wish Foundation!!!! YEA!!!!!!

We are all soooo excited!!!! I know you are probably wondering where we are going, so with no further ado ......DISNEYLAND in California!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!

It's kinda funny, b/c up until the day the Make A Wish volunteers came out to ask what his wish was, he kept saying he wanted to go on a Disney Cruise. Even right before they walked in, he was still saying Disney Cruise, with Disneyland as his 2nd choice. When they asked him what his wish was though, he said Disneyland. Not sure why, but we are glad he made that big decision all by himself. After the shock of him changing his mind, we realized that he made a great choice, b/c he will have much more fun at Disneyland going on all the rides, since that's his favorite thing in the world to do:) Good Job, Buddy!! We are so proud of you!!

All the details still have to be worked out, but we can't wait!!! Of course I will have lots of pics for you all when we get back:) It's not for a few months though, so this is going to be the longest few months ever! LOL

We are VERY thankful for this opportunity that Lil' Chris' CF dr has approved him to be ok enough to go on this trip, and for the Make A Wish Foundation to send us on this trip!!! We couldn't be more happy!

We are so thankful that his health has been good and he is able to enjoy such a great opportunity. It will truly be something he will remember for the rest of his life no matter how long or short it is. Wow, it's hard to type that, as I'm sure it's hard for you to read that, but it's the reality of Cystic Fibrosis. His health could change at any time. We are so thankful that his school has been so good about trying to keep him as healthy as possible, especially through this rough, long winter. THANK YOU Wooster Christian School staff and parents!!! You guys are the BEST!!! They are even doing "Change for CF" to help raise money for a CURE by bringing in their loose change!! Some school families have already signed up to walk too!! We are hoping to have a big WCS team at our walk again like last year:)

I'd like to try and give back to Make A Wish, so I'm going to try and set up some AiA events through Kohl's to help get them some $500 grants from Kohl's. Also, if you would like to give back, here is the link to our Make A Wish chapter to donate...http://oki.wish.org/

Also, here is the link to sign up to walk with us on May 4th or to donate for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis...http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/GreatStrides/104_Northern_Ohio_Cleveland?px=1442439&pg=personal&fr_id=2280

Thanks so much everyone!! Please pray that Lil' Chris stays healthy these next few months so we can go on our trip to Disneyland!!!

Thanks,
M
PS. I got lots of good prizes yesterday for our walkers...details coming soon:)

Thursday, March 27, 2014

2014 Great Strides Commercial for our 5th Annual Wooster Walk



Here it is...our 2014 Great Strides Commercial for our 5th Annual Wooster Walk for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!!! It will play on MCTV in Wooster starting in April until the day of the walk on May 4th. So, be on the lookout;)

BIG THANK YOU TO MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND FOR PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER ALL BY HIMSELF THIS YEAR, HE EVEN DID THE VOICE!! THANK YOU, HONEY!!!:)

Featured in the commercial are CFers...Lil' Chris, Harrison, Aden, Aubrey, and Sophia.

Harrison will be new to our walk this year...he's such a cutie:) It looks like we may have another new team this year too...McKenna's Maniacs. I haven't met them yet, but I look forward to meeting them at the walk:)

Our goal for the walk this year is a total of $22,000 raised and so far between all the teams, we are at $4,615. Not bad, but we got a long ways to go. So if you know of any businesses that would like to sponsor our walk, please let me know! We have different levels of sponsorship and we will advertise their business at our walk.

Also, our goal is to have 200 walkers and right now we are at 55, so please make sure you sign up today! It's easy to register, just click the team you want to join and then click "join our team" and answer a few questions and make a password. Quick and easy!! Usually I register most of my team for them, but with the new website this year, I found out that I can't. They have to register themselves, but luckily it's not hard and the best part is...whenever I share my team link, someone could donate towards ANY of my walkers!! That's pretty cool!! We can try to share the love:) Remember, if you raise $100 or more, you will get a free CF shirt at the walk:) All you have to do is ask 10 people to donate $10 or 5 people to donate $20!! Simple:)

Here is the link to all the teams, so all you have to do is click on the team you want to donate to or "Join" to walk or help raise money!! http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=2280

I'll update more about all the fun things we are going to have at the walk soon:)

BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE DONATED OR SIGNED UP TO WALK SO FAR!!! WE ALL GREATLY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT!!!!
M
PS. I posted the new commercial at the top of the blog also, and it will stay there in case you ever want to watch it again when you check one of my posts;)

2014 Great Strides Commercial Coming Soon

Check back soon
for our new 2014 Great Strides Commercial for our walk for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis
coming up on Sunday, May 4th at 11am at Ida Sue School Pavilion!!!!
 
Gonna be LOTS of FUN!!!!! Will update more soon!!
 
Please pray for our committee team as we try hard to make the walk a GREAT day:)
 
Thanks,
M

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Thank You!!!!!

Postcards by Vistaprint

My wonderful hubby just ordered this years thank you cards for donations and help with the walk:) I usually don't share them on here, but it's so cute, how could I not;)

If you would like one of these cards, just make a donation on Lil' Chris' Great Strides page or sign up to walk with us for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!! Click this link, it's fast and easy and 100% tax deductible...http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/GreatStrides/104_Northern_Ohio_Cleveland?px=1442439&pg=personal&fr_id=2280


Big THANK YOU to Kohl's, Barb N, Paul & Kim, Holly S, Stacy W, and Aunt Mar for your donations!!! We GREATLY APPRECIATE EVERY PENNY!!! The researchers are soooo close to a cure and you guys just helped us get closer...can't thank you enough!!! :)

BIG THANK YOU to Dave and Debbie C, Kevin and Jessie, and Deb W. for signing up to walk with us on Sunday May 4th for a CURE for CF!!! Can't wait!! It's going to be so much fun!!!

Our goal is $5,000 and we are currently at $2,110!! WOOHOO!!! This kids classes at Wooster Christian School are doing "Change for CF" to raise money!! YEA!!! Thanks for the support WCS!!!

Thanks Everyone,
M

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Cough Update

Sorry it's been awhile, but I've been busy fundraising and organizing for our upcoming walk for CF on May 4th. This is our 5th annual walk!! I can't believe how time flies! Seems like yesterday I made the call to the CF Foundation to get a walk started here in our town since all the other walks are kinda far:)

I'll update you more on the walk later, but for now I'll fill you in on lil Chris...My last post was when he had that bad cough and we thought he was going to have to get an antibiotic for it...we'll, I'm happy to say that his cough went away on its own and I didn't even need to call the clinic!!! YEA!!!! I was so relieved!! He's has been doing great since!! Thank you all sooooo much for all your prayers!!! God definitely heard our prayers and answered them!!

Well, I gotta get back to fundraising... I'm in the process of writing a letter to the kids classes about joining us for our walk and raising money for A CURE 4 Lil' Chris;)

Keep checking back for some exciting news coming soon:)
M

Saturday, February 22, 2014

CF Update-Cold and Cough:(

Last weekend, we all got a cold, and now we all have a cough:( Poor Lil' Chris coughed his head off all day yesterday. A wet/dry cough. We tried everything...Albuterol puffer, Mucinex, Pulmozyme, Vest, Acapella, manual CPT, Vicks Vapor rub on his chest and feet to help him sleep last night(thanks Nancy for the reminder, I totally forgot we had that:). I felt so bad, he just couldn't stop coughing. At one point I started counting in between coughs to see how high I could count...I only got to 17 seconds:(

Luckily, he finally fell asleep last night and was able to sleep through almost the whole night. Of course, he woke up coughing again though, not as often, but still a lot:( I know the CF clinic won't give him an antibiotic unless he's been coughing for a few days to a week to see if it will go away on it's own, b/c they don't want him to become immune to the antibiotics. So, if he's still coughing by Monday, I'm calling to get an antibiotic. Hopefully his cough will be gone or hopefully the clinic will be good and prescribe an antibiotic ;p

Normally when he gets a bad cough they tell us to up his Vest from 2 times a day to 3-4 times a day...kinda hard when he is in school from 9-3:30. I know some parents who take the Vest to school and do treatments there during lunch or something, but I don't know how he would respond to his class mates seeing him do his Vest. So we will just have to do Vest before and right after school and then right before bed. So that's 1 1/2 hours each day, poor kid. Luckily he has been in good spirits. He goes along playing and laughing like he's not even coughing! I don't know how he does it!! I was coughing a lot at work and it gave me a headache and I felt miserable:( Ayla was the first one with a bad cough and she was put on Azithromycin for 5 days.

Please pray that his cough goes away soon and doesn't do any permanent damage to his lungs. Just yesterday the FDA approved expanded use of Kalydeco for 8 more mutations!! None of them are his mutations, but...this means they are getting closer and closer:) WOOHOO!!! We just need to keep his lungs as healthy as possible until they get it approved for him!!! http://www.cff.org/aboutCFFoundation/NewsEvents/2-21-FDA-Approves-Expanded-Use-of-Kalydeco-for-CF.cfm

I also just got some GREAT news from a fellow CF mom which totally made my day!!! So, despite everything that's going on with Lil' Chris' lungs right now, I have so much HOPE for his future:)

Thanks everyone,
M

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

CF Clinic Visit and Results 1/8/14 6 1/2 years old



Lil' Chris' 3 month check-up at the CF Clinic last Wed went GREAT!!!

Here is the comparison from his last visit on 9/18/13(you can always find this list on the right hand side of this blog;)...

-9/18/13 51.8lbs, 49 inches, 44% BMI, 94/82 PFT
-1/8/14 52.5lbs, 49.5 inches, 36% BMI, 95/88 PFT
 
As you can see, he gained some weight, got taller, his BMI went down(b/c he got taller), but his PFT's went UP!!! I was worried his PFT's were going to be bad, since he just got over a cough, but he did a GREAT JOB blowing until his face turned red!! I think that was the best he ever blew!!!
 
They did a throat culture and I already got the results back that it is "NORMAL" again!!!! WOOHOO!!!! I couldn't be happier!!! It was a year ago this month that he had cultured Pseudomonas(really bad bacteria). Since then, he has cultured "normal" which is AMAZING!!!! Pseudomonas is usually VERY hard to get rid of, so PRAISE GOD it stayed away!!!

 
He also got his annual chest x-rays done. He still needs to get his blood work done, but we have until his annual cf appointment on 6/4. He was supposed to get blood work done last year, but once school started it was hard to find the time to go and get it done. He gets blood work done every year and chest x-rays every other year.
 
They did see some more scarring in his lungs, which isn't good, but they said that is normal for a CFer:( I was really hoping to keep his lungs from scarring before a CURE came, but we do everything we are supposed to do and he only had like 1 bad cough in the last year, so idk.....
 
I asked the doctor about the chest pains he gets sometimes, and she said to try Tums. We usually just do his Albuterol puffer, but lately we have tried the Tums too. Not sure if either helps or not, b/c it usually only lasts about 5-10 min. The day after clinic, he had those chest pains about 4 or 5 times. We actually picked him up from school at noon. Not sure what is causing it. We thought maybe it's heartburn or something. His doctor doesn't think it is CF related. She thinks it might be Precordial Catch Syndrome(Texidor's Twinge). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precordial_catch_syndrome or http://www.precordialcatchsyndrome.org/causes-symptoms-and-treatments-for-precordial-pain/
 
Precordial Catch Syndrome (PCS), also known as Texidor's Twinge, is a common cause of chest pain in children and adolescents. It also occurs, though less frequently, in adults. PCS manifests itself as a very intense, sharp pain, typically at the left side of the chest, generally in the cartilage between the bones of the sternum and rib cage, which is worse when taking breaths. Patients often think that they are having a heart attack which causes them to panic. This pain typically lasts from 2 or 3 seconds to a few minutes, though, in some cases, they can persist for up to 30 minutes. The frequency of episodes varies from patient to patient; sometimes occurring daily with multiple episodes each day, or on a less frequent basis with weeks, months, or even years between episodes. On rare occasions, breathing in or out suddenly will cause a small popping or cracking sensation in the chest, which results in the pain going away. In most cases the pain is resolved quickly and completely, and medication is not needed for the pain to subside. There is no known treatment or cure for PCS.

His CF doctor said that most likely the Albuterol and Tums won't help it. It will just go away on it's own after a few minutes. She said there is no real concern and suggested that we get him checked by his Pediatrician to make sure nothing else is going on. So I will be making an apt soon if it continues. I hate to go to his Pediatricians during cold and flu season, but if this continues, we will go. Please pray that these pains never come back and that it's not something worse!!!
 
Thanks for all your continued prayers,
M
PS. I got to meet a fellow CF mom, Lesley, that I'm friends with on Facebook at clinic, and her son Cohen with CF. It's always nice chatting with someone else who "gets it" ;) Glad Cohen had a good visit too:)

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Bactrim Update / CVS

The Bactrim he started on Sun has def helped and his cough is pretty much all gone. YEA!!!

Only problem is...it was supposed to be for 14 days, but it ran out in only 6 days. So I called our CVS pharmacy and she said that the dr may have made a mistake in the math, so she called the dr and they said that he should be on it for 14 days. So now I have to go pick up another bottle. I'm so glad that our local CVS pharmacy was able to figure this out quickly on the weekend so that there was no lapse in giving him his Bactrim. Once I told the pharmacist that he has CF, she took the situation very seriously and figured it was a mistake in math on the script. I LOVE OUR CVS!!!

CVS is sooooo very easy to order refills too!! I just do it through an app on my phone:) It literally takes me less than a minute!! LOVE IT!! The app also lets me see when the last time I got a refill, what date I can refill it again, and when it expires!! This is GREAT, b/c then I can let the dr know if I see it's going to expire soon:) It's not good to have lapse in meds with CF. I try my hardest to stay on top of ordering all his meds and this CVS app makes it VERY simple! I wish we could get all his meds through CVS!! If you don't use CVS, I highly recommend it if you can!!

I'd say another fav part of CVS is that they have a drive-thru. I always hated going into Drug Mart to get his meds, b/c you never know what germs you might pick up. I still sanitize after touching the pen and clipboard thru drive-thru at CVS...you can never be too safe;)

Save the date for our next Great Strides Walk for CF on Sunday May 4th 2014 at 11am in Wooster!!!

Thanks for all the continued prayers! Keep praying for a normal throat culture, weight gain, and high PFT's this Wed at his 3 month CF check-up at the clinic!!!
M
PS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SAMANTHA, AUBREY'S MOM!!!! :)

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Cough Update

Lil' Chris started 14 days of 3tsp 2x a day of Bactrim on Sunday 12/29/13 for his wet cough. This is the first antibiotic since last January when he was on Tobi and Cipro for Pseudomonas!!!! Praise the Lord he has had an AMAZING year despite having cultured Pseudomonas last Nov and Jan!!!! This is only his 4th cough in 2013. Not bad!! The other coughs weren't bad and went away without antibiotics, but this one kept getting worse, so I felt he needed a little help of an antibiotic. Luckily the medicine is working great and his cough has gotten much better!!

We are going to use his next cf clinic apt as a follow apt for this cough and antibiotic. It's on Jan 8th, so please pray for normal throat culture, good weight gain, and good PFT's!!!!

I hope everyone has a HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!! I'm praying 2014 is the year for a CURE for CF!!!! They are sooooo close!!! I'll be starting my fundraising soon to get to that CURE sooner!!! :)

Thanks,
M
PS. I LOVE my new laptop, honey!!! Thanks so much!!! :)