Ydev Event 2!

Cystic Fibrosis Dinner 

On November 28th I volunteered at a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation dinner in Warwick. Some of you may know what Cystic Fibrosis is and some of you may not. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects the lungs and other major organs like the pancreas, it is a build up of thick sticky mucus that can make it hard to breathe. Many CF patients have to take a handful of different kinds of medication a day and perform many treatments each day to ease their symptoms. This dinner was held to recognize the RI doctors and CF clinic and their hard work and new progress with medication for CF. I had the honor of meeting a man named Matt that has CF and we had a great conversation. He told be that as a child it was hard but he always had the support of his family and friends and that has made all the difference in his life. Matt is a flight attendant and wants to inspire others with CF that they can do anything and that they can't let the disease hold them back. Learning about the man with CF and learning all the new medical progress the disease is making was truly inspiring. My sorority is holding an event in March 2018 to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis and I asked Matt if he would come to our event and share his story. He said yes and was thrilled that I asked him and I can't wait for him to inspire others the way he inspired me. At the event I ran into the 5th grade teacher at St. Paul School which is my internship. We got to taking and I asked her what her connection to CF was and she told me that both of her brothers have it and one passed away from it earlier this year and said she loves to come to the dinners and fundraising events because her brother would go to them and she wants to celebrate him. It was nice to see her and hear her story about her brother and I think I might ask her if she would want to do a dress down day at the school and have all the proceeds be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.