I think that I can post this here. We are going to be joining the CF Foundations fundraiser called Great Strides to help raise money for research and other ways they help people. I wrote this letter and I was wondering what you all thought about it. I am still kinda unsure of what to say but I am hoping this gets the message through.

I am not trying to ask for donations from you all but I am just asking for some input. Please, please don't feel that I am soliciting you because I am not.

Thanks!

Oh, there is a picture of Luke in the upper right hand corner but I couldn't get it on here. It's the picture of him in the jean jacket that I posted last week in Parenting.



As most of you know, Luke was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis one month ago. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. That's why your help is needed now more than ever to ensure that a cure is found sooner - rather than later. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

30 years ago this would've been a death sentence and we would have been lucky if he survived to his first day of school. Now, mainly because of research funded through donations from private people and organizations, Luke has a life expectancy of 35 years.

While this means that we will probably out live our child, we have hope that he will still live a full and fulfilling life. The one hope that we have is that someday soon they will find a cure. Researchers are getting very close but they aren't there yet. Pharmaceutical companies don't want to fund any research because there aren't enough people in the US that have this disease.

There are ways that you can help.

1) You can join Luke's team for the Great Strides Walk in Naperville,IL, on June 14th 2008. GREAT STRIDES is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event. You join by clicking on this link www.cff.org/Great_Strides/CourtnieAllen and clicking on the Join my team button. We want to have a large group showing support for Luke and all the others who's lives are affected by this disease.

2) You can make a tax deductible donation to help research. 90 cents for every dollar is going straight for research to help people with CF. Luke takes meds that were developed using funds people just like you donated to the CF Foundation. You can donate by clicking the click to donate button when you follow this link www.cff.org/Great_Strides/CourtnieAllen. Any amount is a help and no donation is too small.

With your help we can fight this disease and strive to give Luke and others a healthy life.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those with CF! Thank you for supporting the mission of the CF Foundation and GREAT STRIDES!

God Bless!

Dan and Courtnie Allen