Toby Asks for Your Help Once More
Our nine year old granddaughter suffers from chronic Cystic Fibrosis. A cure is her only long-term hope. You can help her and others. PLEASE READ THIS STORY.
Palm Coast, FL – March 18, 2011 – Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic condition affecting, to varying degrees, lungs (breathing) and /or the pancreas (digestion). Our nine-year old granddaughter, Faith Shaw, suffers severe involvement of both lungs and pancreas. In the long term, the only hope for those with CF is a cure. Faith’s family and friends are participating in the May 15th CF GREAT STRIDES Walk for a Cure. Proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to fund continuing research. In 1955 children with CF were not expected to live long enough to attend grade school. Research has resulted in extending life expectancy. The median predicted age of survival of CF victims is 37.4 years, up from 32 years in 2000. Gene therapy shows great promise that a cure is near.
I cannot express Faith’s plight as well as the following letter from her mother. Please read it and give if you can (and forward this message to others). You can learn more and donate on-line at: Faith Shaw’s Great Strides Website. Last year, largely due to generous GoToby.com readers, Faith raised over $8,000 for her Great Strides team. Please help her surpass that mark this year.
Meet my daughter, Faith. Faith was born on May 15, 2001, and is your typical 9-year-old little girl. She loves to ride her bike, play outside with friends, enjoys playing soccer and being a cheerleader. She loves school (well.. that part might not be so typical); she loves the Disney Channel, Webkinz, flowers, butterflies, puppies and kittens. Her favorite colors are purple and pink and she has a very energetic zest for life. She wants to be a doctor or a veterinarian when she grows up, and she dreams of the day when she will get married and have children of her own. But Faith’s life is sadly far from ‘typical,’ and she may never have the opportunity to realize those dreams.
On December 24, 2001, at the age of 7 months, Faith was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. She has been in and out of the hospital numerous times needing I.V. medications to combat the lung infections that continually attack her little body. She struggles with gaining weight, so has a feeding tube for adding additional calories to her diet. She deals with a daily regimen of multiple medications, nebulizer treatments and chest physical therapy treatments. And her future is one of even greater challenges, obstacles and much uncertainty. In addition to the life-long regimen of medications, treatments and hospital visits, she will one day deal with diabetes and will more than likely require a lung transplant in her late teens to early twenties. Currently the median age for someone with CF is only 37.
Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives, like Faith, to CF every day. That’s why your help is needed now more than ever to ensure that a cure is found sooner – rather than later.
GREAT STRIDES is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest and most successful national fund-raising event. TEAM FAITH STRIDERS will participate in our 3rd Great Strides Walk in honor of FAITH SHAW on Sunday, May 15, 2011. As we celebrate her 10th birthday on that day, we will also celebrate the hope of many more birthdays to come should a cure be found. Please help us in our efforts to FIGHT FOR A CURE and FIGHT FOR FAITH’S LIFE by sponsoring TEAM FAITH STRIDERS.
Any amount is greatly appreciated… from $5 to $500, or anything in between or beyond! Your generous gift will be used efficiently and effectively, as more than 90 cents of every dollar raised is invested in vital CF programs to support research, care and education.
Making a donation is easy and secure! Just select the "Click to Donate" button on my home page to make a donation that will be credited to our team. Or if you wish to mail your donation instead, please make checks payable to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and send to:
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-Charlotte Office // ATTN TEAM FAITH STRIDERS c/o JOLLY JOHNSON // 7506 E Independence Blvd, Suite 120 // Charlotte, NC 28227
TOGETHER, we can make a difference in the lives of those with CF!! On behalf of my daughter, Faith, and the many other individuals and families affected by this disease, thank you for supporting the mission of the CF Foundation and GREAT STRIDES!
(To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit https://www.cff.org.)
If you encounter a problem with a link, please visit my Great Strides Home Page at https://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/SusanShaw6215!
NOTE: If link looks broken, cut and paste ENTIRE link into address bar. If you are presented with a "Find A Walker" page, enter my first and last name and click on "Find Walker." Then click "View Walker" by my name in the results list to go to "My Great Strides Home Page."
Thanks and God Bless You!!
THANK YOU!!!
As Faith’s mom, I just wish to thank all those who have made a donation on my daughter’s behalf! A week ago I had to break the news to her that her life would be shortened by this disease. I desperately long for the day that I get to break the news to her that a cure has been found! Because CF is considered an "orphan disease" due to it’s relatively small patient population, it receives NO federal funding or assistance from government agencies of any kind. That means it is only through the generous gifts and donations such as yours that the vital research and trials can continue and hopefully lead to that cure! So from the very depths of my heart and soul, THANK YOU!!!! God bless you!
Sincerely, Susan Shaw