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

CF Med List Expense/BCMH Approval!!!

GREAT NEWS!!!!!

WE GOT OUR APPROVAL LETTER IN THE MAIL FOR BCMH(Lil' Chris' secondary insurance)!!!! WHOO HOO!!!!!

It's a good thing too, b/c the same day we got his approval letter, we also got a statement in the mail saying that his $1,500 for 2 of his meds was paid for!! Praise the Lord!!!

I found this cool price list for most CF meds...https://www.cfservicespharmacy.com/ProductsandPrices/

Check it out to see how much you/your child's meds are without having to rummage thru all your bills and statements:)

Here is a breakdown of Lil' Chris' meds...

Enzymes=Creon 6,000= 5 with every meal, about 25 per day=$1,200 for 30 day supply

Prevacid=once daily=$250 for 30 day supply

Aquadeks=once daily=$42 for 30 day supply

Pulmozyme=inhaled once daily=$2,700 for 30 day supply

Albuterol Puffer= (was not listed)

Flonase=$102

When he cultures Pseudomonas, he has to take the following...

Cipro=$530 for 30 day supply

TOBI=twice daily for 28 days=$8,000 

TobiPodhaler=$8,000 (this just got approved, so he may take this next time he cultures Pseudomonas instead of TOBI, b/c it cuts treatment time down by about 40 minutes per day. I was surprised to see it costs the same as TOBI)

He also takes Claritin daily too, which is not listed b/c it's for his seasonal allergies. Not sure how much it is, but our insurance and BCMH covers that also thankfully. I think it's around $40.

So, our grand total for just one month without TOBI and Cipro=$4,334

Grand total with TOBI and Cipro=$12,864

Grand total for one YEAR without TOBI and Cipro=$52,008

Grand total for one year with TOBI and Cipro every other month=$103,188 

WOW!!! CYSTIC FIBROSIS IS EXPENSIVE!! 

SO THANKFUL FOR BCMH!!!

I don't know what we would do without it!!

THANK YOU BCMH and THANK YOU LORD FOR ANSWERED PRAYER!!!

My advice to other CF families is to get with your CF clinic's social worker to find out about any other financial assistance programs your area might have. BCMH is for my state, but your state may have something similar. Also, even if you think you may make too much and won't get approved...just apply anyways. It doesn't hurt anything by applying. You never know, you might get approved anyways, b/c of how serious a disease CF is! If you get denied one year, apply again each year. Like I said, it doesn't hurt to try...your effort will pay off once you get approved:)

Please pray that we continue to get approved each year as you can see the impact it has on our family.

Thanks,

M

PS. Lil' Chris is doing GREAT! NO COUGH!! THANK YOU JESUS!!

Day 4 CF Awareness / Are you a CF carrier??

 Meet Aden...a new CF team:)

 Meet Aubrey...another new CF team for this years walk:)

May is CF Awareness Month, so I will try to update everyday this month. Here is Day 4...

Did you know that more than 10 million Americans are unknown, symptomless carriers of Cystic Fibrosis?? They carry the defective CF gene. My 2 sisters and my sister-in-law and my husband and I are all CF carriers. None of us ever knew until my middle sister was tested in 2003 while she was pregnant. Then my older sister was told during her 3rd pregnancy (they didn't do that testing with her first 2 pregnancies). My sister-in-law found out during her first pregnancy. Fortunately their husbands were not carriers. Both my husband and I carry the Delta F508 defective gene, which we found out after Lil' Chris was born. We never knew it until Lil' Chris was already conceived. Therefore, Lil' Chris was born with Double Delta F508, which is the most common CF gene. In order for someone to have CF, they must inherit a defective CF gene from both parents.
Each time 2 carriers of the defective gene conceive, there is a 25% chance that child will have CF, a 50% chance that child will be a carrier, and a 25% chance that the child will not have the CF gene at all.
The odds remain the same with each child. The severity and symptoms of the disease vary considerably due to different mutations of the gene. As of right now, we have been told that Ayla is not even a carrier! We are going to get her re-tested just to make sure.

We are all ready for our big CF walk tomorrow!!! My sister and her kids are here from NC and are going to walk with us!!! YEA!!! They were here for our very first Wooster walk, and now they are going to get to see how much our walk has grown:) I registered all my walkers that I know of, and there are about 80!! WOOHOO!!! It means sooooo much to have sooooo many support Lil' Chris. I can't even put our appreciation into words! And we have so many that donated but can't make it to the walk that we greatly appreciate too!!! THANK YOU ALL!!!

Here are the happenings for the walk tomorrow...

We will get there to set up around 9 or 9:30
Panera Bread will be there at 10:30 with yummy bagels:)
There will be fruit, water, juice, and lemonade
The Ambulance will get there around 10:30 and be there for the whole walk, I believe
The Fire Truck will be there from 11-noon
Pat Catan's Craft Table will be there at 11
Police Car will be there around 12:30-1:30p
Dr. Dave will be doing balloon animals
Domino's Pizza will arrive at 12:30
McDonald's cheese burgers and french fries will be there around 12:30
There will also be yummy cookies, chips, crackers, and more
After the walk, there will be many awesome prizes too!!! YEA!!!!

Hope to see you there!!!
M
PS. Please continue to pray for Tricia(adult CFer), she desperately needs new lungs, but is stable right now on a ventilator.

Best Teacher / CF Walk Update / Thank You!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. FALKENBERG!!!

It was a privilege to be a part of Lil' Chris' teachers birthday! 

She is such a wonderful woman! She gets the Teacher of the Year Award from me;) She really loves and cares for Lil' Chris:) She made a collection jar for CF and has been talking it up all year to collect change for CF! The jar is getting very heavy;)

She also has been talking up our CF walk coming up in just 2 weeks! We now have 7 families coming from the Wooster Christian School just to support Lil' Chris!!  

That's AWESOME!!! 

This is going to be our biggest and best walk yet!! Normally we have about 75 total walkers with all teams combined...this year I have about 80 just for A Cure 4 Lil' Chris team!!! That's def a GREAT feeling to have all the wonderful support!! :) I think I might have to get with Domino's about ordering more pizza's! I'm praying that they will still donate all of them:)

We have doubled our teams too! In the past we had 3 teams at our walk, Lil' Chris, Daniel, and Jack. Now we have 3 more teams! Aden, Aubrey, and Sophia!   
I'm sure we all have mixed feelings about having more teams...on one hand we love it that our walk is getting bigger and bigger, but on the other hand...that means more kids were diagnosed with this horrible disease known as Cystic Fibrosis:(
But I'm very glad to see that these wonderful CF parents are taking an active interest in their child's health by getting out there and raising money and awareness for a CURE!!! 

TOGETHER, WE WILL MAKE CF STAND FOR CURE FOUND!!!  

Thank you everyone who has signed up to walk and/or donated!! We can't thank you all enough!! 
If you haven't donated yet and would like to, just click the Great Strides Logo in the upper right hand of this blog and then "click to donate" or click "join my team" to register to be a walker:) Let me know if you have any questions!

HUGE THANK YOU to Carrie G and Stephanie W for doing the Thirty-One and Arbonne CF Fundraisers!! We raised a total of $1,350!!!! WOOHOO!! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO BOUGHT SOMETHING FROM THESE 2 FUNDRAISERS:) WE GREATLY APPRECIATE IT!! AND THANK YOU CARRIE AND STEPHANIE FOR DONATING YOUR COMMISSION!! YOU GIRLS ROCK!! BIG THANK YOU TO MY KOHL'S TEAM FOR HELPING OUT AND GETTING US THE $1,000 GRANT!!
 If anybody wants to do a Thirty-One party or Arbonne party, let me know and I will hook you up with these amazing girls:)

BIG THANK YOU to Verizon on Milltown for sponsoring us!! You guys are AWESOME!! Look forward to seeing you at the walk!! :)

Thanks, 
M
PS. I have about 5 other posts all started, but not finished yet...big news coming soon...and more than just one;o

My 1st CF Education Day!!

I just got back from my first CF Education Day at our CF Center. It was a lot of fun and they shared a lot of great info! It was so nice seeing and talking with other CF parents that I have met thru Facebook...Adam and Heather Longwell, Lisa Kibler, and now Loretta H:) 

There were also lots of vendors there giving away some great stuff!! I even got a pari cup(a nebulizer cup for TOBI)! Although I may not need it once they come out with the new Podhaler for TOBI this June!! WOOHOO!! This new TOBI will cut down treatment time by like 1,500 minutes a month!! That's AMAZING!!!!! I can't wait!!

I was so glad I got to go with Samantha, Aubrey's mom!! It's sooo nice to talk "in person"(not just fb;) about CF with someone who "gets it!" It makes me really want to start up CF Mom Meetings again;-) I used to set them up a long time ago, but then they turned into meetings about our walk. I think it would be nice for a few CF moms to get together and just talk CF once in awhile though:) I used to learn something new each time, and I always want to help anyone else out if I can.

They talked a lot about how the drug Kalydeco(which is basically a cure for those 4% of cfers who have G551D mutations) combined with the VX809 drug could be our possible cure for the majority of CFers within the next 10 years!!! ISN'T THAT AWESOME!!! Now we just gotta keep Lil' Chris as healthy as possible until then! They said that if the combo of those 2 drugs don't work out(they are currently in stage 3 clinical trials), then they already have some other drugs to try to combine with Kalydeco!!! That's great news too!

We are so close to a cure thanks to all your donations!!! Won't it make you feel soooo good to one day say..."I was a part of that cure:)" I don't know about you...but I can't wait til I can say those words!!! Cystic Fibrosis is the #1 genetic killer in children, and when we find a cure for it, it will be the only genetic disease that has a cure!!

If you would like to be a part of our cure for Cystic Fibrosis, click here to join my team to walk, or to sponsor me to walk for a cure on Sunday May 5th at 11am by Ida Sue School!!

 BIG THANK YOU to my cousin Charae & Paul, my Aunt Mar, my cousin Elizabeth, my neighbor Michelle P for spreading my blog on her fb wall and got a donation from her friend Jenn Conroy, and Barb N from Kohl's!!! I love that you guys will one day be able to say that you were a part of the CURE for Lil' Chris!!!! :) THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR DONATIONS!!!! I finally got my cute thank you cards with Lil' Chris' pic on it and I will be mailing them out soon;-)

M
PS. I have lots of things to blog about, I just wish I had more time. The big news will be coming soon, I promise:)

CF Update / Bad Virus or something???

TOBI arrived Wed evening, but we didn't start it til Thurs morning. He has been doing great with the TOBI, but he HATES the cipro pill b/c it is chalky. I hate Cipro b/c he can't have any milk or cheese 2 hours before or after taking it...I'm sure he hates it b/c of that too;p The reason is, b/c it makes the Cipro not work as well apparently.

Thurs he came home from school with some kind of virus. I was very worried it was the flu, but thankfully it seems like it was just a 24 hour bug or something. He had a very bad headache in the middle of his forehead, a sore throat, and a bad tummy ache. He was just lying around with no energy. Then around 6pm he started throwing up off and on until 11pm. He was throwing up like he had Soy Protein which he is allergic to, but he usually doesn't have the other symptoms with it, so we aren't sure what he had. Today he seems fine. He took all 8 pills and ate his whole bowl of cereal and has been running around playing with Ayla!! Then he did his Albuterol, Vest, and TOBI. For some reason, the TOBI seems to be taking a lot longer this time than it did a couple months ago. Not sure why, it's the same dosage. Maybe the setting on the machine got bumped. I'll have to check it out.

I almost took him to our Pediatrician yesterday, but our CF clinic(by the time they finally got back to me) said not to take him b/c it's too dangerous for him b/c he could pick up something worse. I almost still took him, but he refused to go and I thought maybe that was a sign. So I didn't take him and I am sooooo glad I didn't b/c he is doing so much better!!! Who knows, if I would've taken him, he could've picked up the flu that's going around like crazy and then possibly end up in the hospital. Good thing Lil' Chris knows his body;-)

Unfortunately Ayla is complaining of a sore throat today, so I'll have to keep a close eye on her:(

I have soooo much to do to get ready for the walk and fundraising!! No better place to make a list than on my blog, right?? LOL...

1. I have to make a new fundraising video or at least update my old one;p I've used that one like 3 years in a row, so I really want to make a new one, but it's so time consuming, so we'll see. 
2. I also have to start working on the 30 second CF commercial for Clear Picture. So far I have pics from Denna with Aden doing his treatments. Thanks Denna!! She is really on the ball!! I still have to take a few pics of Lil' Chris;)
3. I have to get all the food nailed down for the walk...Dominos, McDonald's, Panera Bread, Frito Lays, Buehler's fruit, and ice from Speedway.
4. I have to contact the radio stations
5. I have to nail down some of the entertainment for the walk...Dr Dave who makes the best balloon animals and Pat Catan's for a craft table. 
6. And most importantly...I have to raise money for a CURE!!

Samantha, Denna, and Alma are doing a lot to get ready too...
Samantha is going to contact the police dept and fire dept to try to get a police car, ambulance, and fire truck for the kids at the walk. She's also going to contact the newspaper to get an article about the walk. Try to get water donated for walkers. And Samantha, Denna, and I are working on getting prizes for the walkers:)  Alma is going to make her WONDERFUL cookies again and maybe some of her famous cupcakes too;) She is also going to try to get water and soda donated. The 4 of us are also going to try to put together some signs, one for each of our kids to put up around the walking path with info about our kids and their pic on it:)

So, lots to do and only 3 months to do it!!! It's going to be soooo much fun!!! I can't wait!!

Sign up to walk today and if you can't walk, but would like to sponsor me, click this link as it is 100% tax deductible and will get us one step closer to a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis...

http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/LilChrisChris6765

 
Thanks for your continued prayers that Lil' Chris kicks this Pseudomonas out!!!
M

2012 Great Strides Totals / TOBI Update

Totals are in for 2012 fundraising...our walk raised $16,800 for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!! WOOHOO!!! We've come a long way since our first walk where we raised like under $5,000 I think:) Each year we raise more and more for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis and I can't THANK YOU ALL enough!!! It means soooo much to all us CF families!!!

Our A Cure 4 Lil' Chris team raised $6,967!! WOOHOO!!! That's awesome!! My calculations were over $7,000, but one of the Kohl's grants took longer than I thought and actually is on my new 2013 Great Strides Walk page:) That's ok, I'm starting off with a bang!! Although had I realized, I would've put in the extra $33 to put us at $7,000 ;-) LOL Oh well! Here is my link for 2013, who's gonna be my first sponsor? Remember, it's 100% tax deductible...

http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/LilChrisChris6765

Yesterday we had a GREAT 1st meeting to kick off the new fundraising year and start getting ready for the walk this May 5th, 2013 at 11am!!! I'm really excited about this year, b/c we have 2 new committee members who are really motivated to not only have a great walk, but most importantly raise as much money as possible for a CURE for our little ones and all CFers. Big THANK YOU  to Samantha and Denna for being so passionate about a CURE and wanting to help in any way!! 

Samantha has a 9 month old CFer named Aubrey. She is the cutest lil' thing:) She was diagnosed at 3 months old. Her older sister, Makayla, went to preschool with Lil' Chris:) I wish they could hang out more often since we live so close, but it makes it hard having cfers in both families as we have to be careful of cross-contamination:(

Denna has a 9 year old son named Aden with CF and another son without CF named Alex. Aden was just diagnosed a little over a year ago. Denna has a great outlook on becoming a committee member, "It'll be good for not only myself but also Aden and Alex. Just for them to learn that no matter how small the contribution, every person can make a difference." Together, the 5 of us...Denna, Samantha, Alma, Kathy, and myself...can and will make a BIG difference!! :) Denna has already jumped in and has started getting things going for the walk and it's only been one day!! And Samantha has already gotten prizes for the walk and has done a few fundraisers already!! I'm soooo proud of these 2 ladies and proud to have them on our committee:) It's gonna be a GREAT Year!!

BIG THANK YOU TO NANCY, my sister D's mother-in-law, for doing a Yankee Candle fundraiser for CF and raising $267.60!!! WOW!!! That's AWESOME!! The cool thing is...I didn't even ask Nancy to do this, SHE came to me with the idea!! I LOVE her passion for a CURE for CF!!! Nancy has always been a BIG supporter of Lil' Chris and has donated each year and is always thinking of new ways to raise money for a CURE!! I can't THANK YOU enough, Nancy!! We love you!!

As for a CF update on Lil' Chris...his TOBI should be arriving today on our doorstep. This will be his 2nd time on TOBI and Cipro. We have had the Cipro for a few days now, but we had to wait until the TOBI got here to start it, b/c they have to be taken together. If he cultures Pseudomonas again after this next 28 days of treatment, then he will be on just TOBI, not Cipro and TOBI, every other month:'( Please pray this doesn't happen. If it does, then we'll take it one day at a time. 

WE NEED A CURE NOW!!!!!!! They are soooo close with the new drug Kalydeco combo. Lil' Chris just needs to stay as healthy as possible until it gets done Phase 3 and clinical trials, and gets approved by the FDA. Please pray this is a CURE or a better control of the lung issues associated with CF!

Thanks everyone,
M  
PS. Happy Birthday to a faithful blog reader, Kevin W.!!! Hope you have a great day!!! ;)

TOBI is All Done / CF Fundraiser!!

WOOHOO!!! TOBI ended yesterday!!! When Lil' Chris did his Vest this morning, it was so weird not doing any breathing treatments with it!! That's the first time in 28 days, which seems like we've done it from day one! LOL

HE didn't even notice, but inside I was super excited!! I even got to set my alarm a little bit later, which was soooo nice with all the crazy hours I've been working lately!

Some parents have a little celebration when their kids finish TOBI, but I didn't do that with Lil' Chris. I just didn't want to bring any attention to it, since he did so well with it. I feel like if I celebrate it being done, then the next time he has to do it, he might not want to. IDK.

The one I really wanted to celebrate being done was the Cipro!! That was a pain him not being able to have any dairy products 2 hours before or after the pills! He didn't like that either, but he understood and cooperated. He really is such a good kid!!!!!!!! Except....he DID hide 5 of his Cipro pills under the toy box in the living room!

My husband found them when he went to put up the Christmas tree. My husband yelled at him and then when I got home from work, I yelled at him too. I know he only did it b/c he didn't like the chalkiness of the pill. He's used to the capsule type from his enzymes and Prevacid, or the gel tab type from his Aquadek vitamin pill. BUT, I couldn't let him go on thinking that doing stuff like that is okay. After I yelled at him, I gave him a hug and then explained to him how important it is that he does EXACTLY what the doctors tell him to do. It's only for his own good and to help him get better or not get any worse. He seemed to understand, and took the 5 pills fine over the next few days.

I tried to tell him to put it UNDER his tongue like I do with my chalky lactaid pills, but he kept saying "Then how do I swallow them?" I tried telling him that when he takes a drink, they will float to the top and go down easy and they never touch the tongue and he never has to "taste" them. He couldn't understand how they would float with the liquid, so he continued to make us put the pill on the back of his tongue...practically gagging on it...and then he would swallow it. He never tried it my way, but I don't care as long as he takes them and doesn't hide them again!!

I called the CF clinic and we go back on the 17th to get another culture done to see if the Pseudomonas is gone or not. It will just be a culture visit, but if he starts a cough before then, he will be seen by his dr. Please pray that the TOBI and Cipro worked so that he doesn't have to do them again in 28 days!! As of right now...NO COUGH!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!

Also, please pray for our dear friend Stacy A. She has Bronchiectasis, which is like the sister disease to CF...the same lung issues, but with no digestive issues. She was just admitted to the hospital and just got an IV and may have to get a PICC tomorrow. Please pray she gets well soon so she can get her PFT's back up where they belong so she won't be so short of breath, and so she can return to work. We miss her at Kohl's!! WE LOVE YOU STACY!!! STAY STRONG AND GET WELL SOON!!!

The CF fundraiser the other day went GREAT!! It was so much fun!! BIG THANK YOU to Carrie G for suggesting CF be the cause!! And BIG THANK YOU to each of the 6 different parties for doing a raffle for CF!! And BIG THANK YOU to Deborah for letting us do it at her Garden Market for free!! And BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came and supported CF(It was great getting to talk to Mary, Daniel's mom)!! And one more BIG THANK YOU to my fellow Kohl's associates (Kim S, Roberta, Jolleen, and Cheyenne) for volunteering to do the event to get the $500 for a CURE for CF!! WOOHOO!! I believe that makes $5,000 raised for CF this year alone from Kohl's!!! Gotta love Kohl's...especially this holiday season as they are giving away one FREE purchases EVERY DAY at EVERY STORE and ONLINE from now til Christmas Eve!!! I LOVE working for a company who helps the community out as much as Kohl's does, esp when they let me give away the free purchase...BEST FEELING EVER!!! BIGGEST THANK YOU TO KOHL'S!!!
Thanks,
M
PS. We got our Christmas pics taken tonight, so be on the look out for them over the next couple weeks!!! They all turned out soooooo cute!!! If you would like a Christmas card, let me know!! I know Lil' Chris likes getting pics of other CF kids too:)

TOBI and Cipro Update

Lil' Chris is doing GREAT with his new TOBI treatment!! I'm so proud of him!! I can't believe we have gone through a couple of packs already! They come in packs of 4. He is doing GREAT taking his Cipro pill too!! 

So far he hasn't said anything about the taste of the TOBI, and he hasn't said that his tummy hurts from the Cipro, but everyday that I have been with him since he started it, he has not gone #2. I've asked him if he has gone, and he says that he doesn't have to. Hmmmm, I'll have to keep a close eye on that, b/c a lot of CFers have problems with this and end up in the hospital being blocked up and sometimes needs surgery or something. The thick sticky mucus in CFers don't just clog up the lungs, they unfortunately clog us other vital organs too:(

When I called the clinic on Tues, the nurse told us that we could switch Pulmozyme to night time, that way we only have to do TOBI in the morning before school. TOBI takes about 13-15 min. Pulmozyme only takes about 6-8 min, but it's just hard, b/c he can't eat his breakfast while he does these treatments. So we are switching to do Pulmo at night. This will give him more time to eat breakfast before school. 

Also, the nurse said to do his Albuterol puffer before treatments to open up the airways. So, the order of his treatments are Albuterol, Vest, TOBI in the morning and Albuterol, Pulmozyme, Vest, TOBI in the evening. Oh and Flonase nasal spray every am and pm:)

Lil' Chris is coughing and has a stuffy nose right now, but it may be from the meds. I've heard that you can get a "TOBI Cough" when taking it, also a raspy voice. His voice hasn't changed yet, but he is having some productive coughs, which is good! He needs to get it out!

Ayla's cold and cough was starting to go away, but now it's back:( I took her to get her flu shot the other day, and I asked if she could be seen for her cough, but they said they didn't have any openings:( So, we bought some over the counter cough medicine to help her out. So funny...the other day I tried to give her medicine in a pill form and gave her a drink, because that's the norm in this house...well, after she took a sip and looked at me like "what do i do now?" I realized she doesn't know how to swallow pills yet;-) LOL Lil Chris has been swallowing pills since he was 2 and she's almost 4 and can't! I'm not used to that! LOL

Chris and I went to a CF Volunteer Appreciation Dinner the other night and it was so Great seeing all our fellow CF parents that we see each year at this dinner! We actually all got to sit at the same table, except Tina sat at the table next to us, b/c out table was full. We heard from 2 Great doctors and they went over the VERY promising drugs coming out for our kids! It may take 5-10 years for the drug to come, so we just have to try and keep our CFers as healthy as possible until that CURE comes, b/c....it IS COMING!!! I CAN FEEL IT!!!
 
I couldn't have made it this past week without the help and great advice from some awesome friends and my awesome fellow CF parents that I have met thru this blog and facebook!! You guys were there right when I needed you the most!  BIG THANKS to Stacy A., Steph W., Alma, Mary, Samantha, Heather V., Angela, Tina C., Kim, Denna, Kirby, Heather L., Leslie, Marjorie, Tina P., Lisa, Rebecca, Erin, Harriet, Abby, Tabitha, and Allison. I can't thank you all enough!!

As I was doing my devotions the other night before bed, I came across this verse.."Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:3 NIV) I have FAITH that God will take away this horrible Pseudomonas bacteria in Lil Chris' lungs so that he can grow old and do GREAT things for God!!! Thank you Lord for having this verse in my devotions that night! I really needed it:) I think a lot of parents with CF kids or any terminal disease should remind themselves of this verse daily!

Thank you all for your prayers, and please keep them coming that the meds work and kicks the Psuedomonas out this first round!!

Please keep Tricia in your prayers too, b/c she finally got listed for a 2nd double lung transplant!! It's always riskier the 2nd time, but we have a God that hears our prayers and answers them!! Check out Nate's blog post...http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/2012/11/listed.html
Thanks,
M

1st Day of Kindergarten!!

Lil' Chris started Junior Kindergarten on 8/21/12 at the local Christian School at 5 years old!! He had no problems leaving mommy and daddy on the first day either! He loves making new friends! He is only going half day and will do full day 1st grade next year as long as he passes JK, but I'm pretty sure he will :)

I can't believe a few weeks have gone by already! He has been doing great and already learning so much! He memorized his first Bible verse pretty quick! "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith." :) AND he has the pledge of allegiance memorized already too!! I'm so proud how well he is doing:)


His teacher is Mrs. Falkenberg and his teacher aide is Mrs. Curtis. They both are wonderful and have been VERY receptive to all that I have taught them about caring for a child with Cystic Fibrosis! Mrs F knows a family with 2 kids with CF, so she is a little bit familiar with it. I have given them both the clip on hand sanitizers that I always wear wherever I go:) It's up to them if they use them or not, but it would def keep down on the germs in the classroom, not just for Lil' Chris, but for all the kids and them as teachers too:)

We are in the process of starting a 504 plan for Lil' Chris. This will stick with him throughout his school years. Click this link for more info http://www.cysticlife.org/downloads/504FlyerFINAL.pdf
A 504 Plan is a legal, written document for students with physical impairments
such as lung disease/GI problems that limit one or more major life activity.
-It protects a child’s rights and health while at school.
-It falls under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
-It is reviewed/updated once a year OR each time a child changes schools.
A 504 plan is not an Individualized Education Program (IEP) as required for
special education students. If your child’s CF contributes to learning difficulties,
an IEP may be required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The possible 504 Plan accommodations for a child with CF include:
-Your child can take his/her pancreatic enzymes during school.
-Your child can have reasonable access to snacks and unlimited access to
water due to medication use. As well as restrooms due to digestion issues.
-Your child can be isolated from sick children and other students with CF.
-The school will provide alternative activities when your child has CF
exacerbations and cannot participate in gym class.
-Modifications can be made based on health status, fatigue and workload.
-The school will provide Homebound Teaching and/or Intermittent Home/
Hospital Instructional Program with proper documentation for children with
high absenteeism.

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As for a CF Update... Lil' Chris is doing well. He had a lil' cough when school first started, but nothing major, we did the Acapella before his first day (in the video above), just in case. He hasn't been coughing everyday, but some mornings I've noticed he has coughed more than others. I think it is just his allergies though. If it progresses, I will def be calling in an antibiotic. I'll keep you posted. He had a bad night on 9/3. He woke up in the middle of the night throwing up off and on for like 3 hours. That's what he usually does when he has something with soy protein in it, but we didn't think he had anything with soy protein, but we did eat out earlier that day and the only thing that he hasn't had before at that restaurant was a chocolate milkshake, soooo idk. We kept him home that Tuesday after just so he could get some sleep. He woke up fine and has been fine since. It's been a while since that has happened. BTW, he is doing GREAT with the Pulmozyme!! So proud of him! He likes to pour it in, and he even sterilized it with me the other day:) It's never to early for him to learn how to take care of himself, right?? :)


Check out the video above, he did such a good job smiling nicely for his first day of Kindergarten pics:) Sorry it's so long, but I didn't want to edit it and cut any pics, b/c my phone's memory card got damaged somehow and I lost a ton of pics;( Luckily I uploaded these before that happened. I CANNOT wait til the end of this month when I can FINALLY get my iPhone 5 when it comes out!!! Then hopefully I won't lose all my precious pics!

Please keep Lil' Chris in your prayers that he has a healthy school year...it's scary letting him go, but I have to;( Also, keep lil' Aubrey in your prayers as she is sick right now. Nathan, Lil' Chris' cousin with Leukemia, has a double ear infection and horrible headaches, so he could use your prayers also. Poor kid already had to miss his 2nd and 3rd day of school already:(


BIG THANK YOU  to Samantha, Aubrey's mom, for doing a CF fundraiser at Applebee's tonight!! You are a GREAT CF mom already jumping into fundraising and she is only 6 months old!! WAY TO GO!!


Thanks so much for your continued prayers!
M

Thirty-One CF Fundraiser Results

Hopefully this posts, I've tried like 20 times to post it and have had to re-type it 2 times! ARG!!! Sorry it took so long to post, but here are the results...

WE REACHED OUR GOAL FOR THE THIRTY-ONE Fundraiser for CF!!! WOOHOO!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO ORDERED SOMETHING TO HELP FIND A CURE FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS!!!...

Danielle

Chantel

Jeanette & friend:)

Andrea S

Stacy W

Samantha C(fellow CF mom:)

Rachel M

Barb N

Stacie M

Amanda P

Samantha S

Margo F

Donna H

Steph W

Sue D

Rebecca G

Melissa C(fellow CF mom:) 

Carrie G

I can't begin to put into words what it means for all these girls to support Lil' Chris like this!!! It means soooooo much!! BIG THANK YOU to Carrie for donating her whole commission for A Cure 4 Lil' Chris and ALL CFers!!! You're the BEST Carrie!!! :)

Our goal was to have $1,000 worth of products ordered so that we could raise $250 plus the $500 from the Kohl's team for helping out at the fundraiser, which equals to $750 raised for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!! WE DID IT!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!  

We have surpassed my personal goal of $5,000 now for our walk for CF!!! We are at $5,673.90!!! Woo Hoo!!!
We have even passed our team goal of $7,000 too!!! It doesn't show it on my Great Strides page yet, but we are still waiting on about $2,000 to come from Kohl's grants from my CF fundraisers! Kohl's alone has donated $4,000 so far this year!!!! AMAZING!! My goal was $5,000 like last year, so I better set up 2 more AiA events;-) We couldn't raise that much if it wasn't for my awesome Kohl's employees!! They are the BEST!!!! 

Here are some pics of the kids modeling our new Thirty-One bags. They LOVED their bags!! Ayla said "That's A for me!!!" LOL(I got her initial on one of the bags for her;)

Thank you again everyone!! I'll probably do another Thirty-One fundraiser for CF next year, or when people start asking me to do one b/c they want to order some stuff;-) I already know one friend who wants to order some more:)
M
 PS. If you missed NY Med about the 26 year old girl with CF, click this link to watch the episode(it shows other people too, but you might be able to fast forward through them if you don't want to watch them too)...http://nymedshow.com/episodes/episode-6