We are enjoying some snowy fun and relaxation in Northern Arizona this week. So, I finally have a chance to update you all on our lives.Joy has had a difficult time with viruses, asthma, and sinus infections since mid January. The excess rain in Phoenix has made our typically brown hills quite green with allergens. Her allergy symptoms have provided fertile grounds for viruses to take hold, and there have been quite an abundance of virulent ones going around. Each of her two viruses caused too much thick, sticky mucus for her sinuses to clear out before becoming infected. She therefore is finishing her second round of oral antibiotics in three months. After two years of extraordinary health, this has been a frustrating season for her. She forgot what it was like to be cooped up and kept away from friends for any length of time. Nonetheless, these illnesses have been so mild compared to what most people with CF face on a regular basis. I was reminded of that when I saw a boy younger than Joy hacking away while in the CF Clinic last week. Joy’s lungs have been mostly spared the buildup of excess congestion. I’ll take a sinus infection over bronchitis any day!
Joy is quickly becoming more mature. She is now 4’7” and growing about a HALF-inch every month (Joy just corrected me). She won’t be a child much longer and will be as tall or taller than me in no time. She has accepted her inevitable maturation with some regret, though she sure hopes it means a cell phone is in her not-too-distant future.
Joy continues to work hard at improving her fast-pitch softball skills, though she has given up on pitching due to the time commitment necessary. She is receiving top-notch coaching by a varsity coach with many championship pennants and a former player of one of those championship teams. Chuck has been assisting as much as they need him. Games resume in late March.
The CF Foundation is continuing to innovate and encourage. While the trial medication Joy tried has not yet come to market, this and other life extending medications are still being researched. The one we’re most excited about is: http://www.cff.org/aboutCFFoundation/NewsEvents/02-03-VX-809-Shows-Encouraging-Results-in-Phase2a.cfm (an oral medication that may circumvent the cell-wall defect of people with Joy’s mutation of CF).
While my business continues to support the CF Foundation, we are not walking in the end of April event this year. We will be out of town, and Joy has decided to participate in other charities. She worked hard to raise over $250 for an orphanage in Kenya, Africa by shooting a basketball 1,000 times in February. She will participate in a local “mission” in May and another in Northern Arizona’s Navajo Nation in September. Please consider sponsoring Joy in these ventures when the time comes. We’ll email you information as it becomes available.
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