Help Support Abigail’s (Ellis) Journey with Cystic Fibrosis

To anyone who reads this story, I can’t thank you enough. My name is Mary Ragusa and I am the proud aunt of my great-niece, Abigail (Ellis) Perez. She is a wonderful, loving, creative, and intelligent young woman. From the day she entered this world, her life has never been easy. Within a few hours of her birth, she was taken into surgery where it was discovered that she had a disease known as CF (Cystic Fibrosis). It was made clear in the days to follow that she would always have to fight to live.

The first few years were a learning curve for the family, but Abigail’s health was not in jeopardy. The teenage years were met with sprinkled hospital stays for many different reasons associated with CF, but still manageable, and the hope of a lung transplant echoed in her future. These last few years have been a challenge and a lung transplant is no longer an option. She has spent months on end in and out of ICU chasing one antibiotic after another, but they all lead right back to square one.

The last few months have brought her to the realization that what she really desires is to be at home, surrounded by those she loves, and creating a bucket list for things she would like to do while she still can. She yearns to walk the beach in Florida, her birth home, take a trip to Duluth with her siblings, and have the comfort of her mother (my niece) by her side. This is the part where I come in. Her mother is young and strong, but she simply can’t be in two places at once. I’ve set up this account to hopefully get enough in donations to help Abigail live out what she has left of her life and maybe even enjoy the beauty that the world has to offer while she still can.

I always say that breathing is something we take for granted; it happens so effortlessly, but that’s not the case for people with CF. Please join us as we breathe life into this gift and allow her wishes to become a reality. My hope is that you share this story; together we can make a difference in one person's life. Thank you.