I was 23 when my husband and I had our first child, a beautiful daughter named Danika. She made us a little family of three. I dropped my hours at work to part-time to be home with her more. My husband and I knew we wanted our kids to be close in age. We started planning for our second child before Danika was even 2 years old and got pregnant right away. Our second daughter Aubrey was born. Little did we know how our lives would change. She was small when she was born: 5lbs 14oz. This didn’t seem to be a problem, as she seemed healthy in every other way. When Aubrey was about 4 weeks old I got a phone call out of nowhere; it was a pulmonologist calling to tell me my child had Cystic Fibrosis.

 

That phone call was so unexpected, we didn’t think anything could be wrong with our child. My husband and I didn’t even know we were carriers of the Cystic Fibrosis gene. After a sweat test, it was confirmed she did have CF and we were quickly thrown into a world of medications, treatments, and changing how we looked at life. I quit working to stay home with her to make sure she got the care she needed. We were now a one income family, and all while going through escrow for our first home. 

 

Fast forward to a couple years later when I was pregnant with our third child. The doctors told us it was very unlikely he would have CF, in fact only a 25% chance of it. After an amniocentesis, he was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis while I was still pregnant with him. We knew the work it would entail, but you never really know until you live it, right? Our son, Broc, was born and he was the missing link to our family. We felt complete.

 

Aubrey and Broc have a special bond, they get to do treatments together and take the same medications. Now they each have someone who is actually the same as them. Big sister, Danika, was meant to be a big sister. She loves to cook and bake. She comes up with new recipes all the time to help her brother and sister gain weight. She helps with medications and entertains them during their treatments. 

 

This past year I have been thinking of all of our blessings. We were given this life because we are strong enough to live it. I was blessed with strong healthy lungs when two of my children were not. I have decided to use what I was given and show my kids that they can accomplish any goal they set.

 

After never really making time for myself and always giving my all to my kids, I started training for my first half marathon.During my runs I  think about all that my children have to go through daily: The treatments, 30 pills a day, long doctors appointments, struggling to breathe and getting worn out quickly. If they can do that, I can run 13 miles.

 

Thinking of them gets me through my training. On January 15th I ran my very first half marathon in honor of all three of my children. I ran it to teach them to never give up, to follow their dreams and that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to - all while raising awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.