This past Sunday, Ollie’s Army participated in Great Strides. Great Strides is the CF Foundation’s biggest fundraiser and takes place all over the country. The mission of the CF Foundation is to assure the development of the means to cure and control cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease.
This year’s Great Strides was super special because Ollie was able to participate. As most of you know, Ollie was hospitalized in 2009 for 2 weeks and was unable to attend the walk. The 2009 Great Strides took place in Crestview and our team raised close to $15,000. The large amount of money we raised was mostly from our first Gantt Lake Poker Run and although Ollie’s Army did not walk in 2010, we were able to make a considerable donation that year as well.
As I said before, this year was very special. The walk took place at the Montgomery Zoo and even though it was uber hot, we had a really good time. Although we walked ALOT, it was not an actually walk. We did a scavenger hunt with clues that lead us to different animals. At each stop, we got a sticker which was right up Ollie's ally. That girl loves some stickers!
I am so proud of my little Ollie. She is so smart and so good. She loved the animals and could tell you just about what each one was. We were able to walk out on an overlook and feed the giraffes. She wasn't really much about getting too close. A baby giraffe came up and ate some of the grass we were provided. He was so cute and so tall....even as a baby.
Even though we had an amazing day, I was constantly reminded of the severity of this disease. Everyone with Cystic Fibrosis was given a rose pin to wear showing others who was who. Although CF is not contagious it is extremely important for those with the disease to not come in contact with each other. This, to me, is very sad. This disease is very rare and only about 5-6 CF’ers were present yesterday. The bonding that helps people cope in other diseases is impossible with CF. Even if they are healthy and no infections or bacteria are present, it is dangerous to be in close contact for the risk of having something in which they are unaware of is high. At this age, Ollie is not aware she has CF let alone know to avoid those that do. I find it very neat that one of my nieces is “best friends” with a girl that has CF. She was able to attend the event yesterday and is the cutest and sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I could tell that she was somewhat nervous about being around others with CF but as the day progressed I think she was grateful to see all the others that understand and experience the day to day life of a CF’er. She spoke to Ollie (from a distance) and I hope that they can become friends via e-mail one day.
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful support group and with their help Ollie's Army raised over $4,500.00. This was an amazing achievement! Thank you to everyone that came and participated in this year's Great Strides and a big thank you to everyone that donated. I realize with our economy, money is hard to spare so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support! Overall the Foundation raised over $20,000.00 at this event. Yay!!
I am even more confident today, that a cure will be found. Thank you all!!
Much Love,
Lynsey & Family
