Running for Jessica
On November 18, I ran the Philadelphia Half-Marathon in honor of my friend Jessica Reed who has been fighting Cystic Fibrosis since birth. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide).
The last few years have been a rollercoaster for Jessica and her
family. She was a lucky recipient of new
lungs and underwent a transplant in 2009. A lung transplant does not cure CF because the defective gene that causes the disease is in all
of the cells in the body, not just in the lungs. While a transplant does give a person with CF a new set of lungs, the rest of the cells in the body still have the CF and may already be damaged by the disease. Further, organ rejection is always possible. Unfortunately,
Jessica is now battling a chronic lung rejection. The past few months have been particularly
difficult for Jessica but her spirit is positive and she never stops
fighting. Every email I receive from
Jessica, no matter how difficult the news, she always puts a positive spin on
things.
This year, I ran 13.1
miles in honor of my friend Jessica. She
inspired me to get back out there and I cannot think of anyone I would
want to run for more. With the help of amazing people, I raised 1,950 before the race. The race is over but her fight continues. Please help me reach my goal of $3,000.
I know there are so many charities and foundations to donate
to and I know the economy is tough. I
completely understand if you cannot donate and ask that you simply say a prayer
and/or send a comforting thought. But, if
you can donate, I ask that you do. It
doesn't matter how much you give; every amount counts and will be greatly
appreciated.
Jessica has requested that the donations go to the Lung Transplant Foundation. Lung transplantation is a relatively rare procedure, and this area receives little research support from the National Institutes of Health or any disease-specific research foundation. Currently, the Lung Transplant Foundation is researching treatments for chronic lung rejection, but there is no cure.
Your donation through this page will go directly to the
foundation. You can visit their site at http://lungtransplantfoundation.org.
From the bottom of my
heart, thank you.