Walk Day 2014!

On May 3rd, over 300 people took GREAT STRIDES to cure Cystic Fibrosis in Roanoke. It was the 15th time Nic's Team has been there. Unfortunately, our team's namesake, and my son, Nic, and his mom, Erica, could not attend this year because Nic was in the hospital dealing with some breathing problems. Frequent hospital stays are part of life for CF'ers and this stay came as a surprise a few days before the walk. But our walkers still came out strong in support of the CFF (www.cff.org) and the fight to cure this nasty disease.

As of today, the TOTAL AMOUNT raised by Nic's Team this year is over $1600. The overall total for Roanoke's event was at least $51,000.  THAT IS SO GREAT! It might be the biggest amount EVER for this event. LOTS of TOMORROWS can be added with those funds.

This year's turnout of supporters was the BEST EVER at the Roanoke walk. There were 15 NEW teams and a bunch of returning teams. I'm not sure why there are so many new participants but the added support is a very good thing. It is not just about getting money for research, it is also important to raise awareness of this disease and the challenges that CF patients face everyday. A lot of credit goes to the Roanoke walk committee members and the CFF employees who work at the office in Richmond.

  
This was the biggest walk team the we have ever had! BIG THANKS to everyone that came out to walk (especially the CADWELLS) and EVERYONE who sponsored our team.


Here is the 2014 walk team....  from LEFT to RIGHT; TOP ROW: Griffin (not a mythical creature), Somer (Nic's sister), Archie (Nic's step-grandpa), Cody (Nic's cousin), Linda (Cody's grandma); MIDDLE ROW: Joel (Nic's uncle), Melissa (Nic's Aunt), Ree (Nic's grandma), ME (holding sign), Elsie (Nic's other grandma); FRONT ROW: Sierra (not a firefighter), Alicia (Cody's sister)

After the walk, the team went over to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital to visit Nic. Here he is with his cousin Cody. They have been best buds since they could talk.

UPDATE:  Nic got out of the hospital the next day and continued IV's at home for about 2 weeks. He is doing much better now. Next up for Nic, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION!

why do we walk?

why do we walk?  the CFF put together this video to explain...


see more videos about CF at the CFF YouTube page

Taking Strides on YouTube

taking Great Strides on YouTube! here is the CF Foundation's PSA for the 2013 campaign...

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to see more videos from the CFF, SUBSCRIBE to their channel HERE

Great Strides for CF

taking "Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis" refers to participating in the CF Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event called GREAT STRIDES. CFF is known as one of the most effective charities in the USA. Nearly 90 cents of every dollar of revenue raised is used for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education.

Raising money for this worthwhile cause is the very least we can do to ensure that one day a cure will be found for Nic and kids like him. We have participated in this event for 12 years. Lots of generous people have helped us in the past and we are extremely grateful.

the Roanoke walk is always held on the beautiful campus of Hollins University. This year's event will be held on May 7th. Our team will be there along with lots of others. All of our supporters are invited to join us. 

Making a donation is easy and secure! Just click the "Click to Donate" button on this page to go to our team web page to make a donation that will be credited to the team. Any amount you can donate is greatly appreciated! With help from generous sponsors, we can meet our fund-raising goal.




BIG THANKS TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!!!

first post

Hello,

Welcome to the Nic's Team web page. this site is dedicated to highlighting our fight against Cystic Fibrosis, a deadly genetic disease that has no cure. We are raising awareness of the disease and gathering sponsors for our Great Strides walk team. Every year our family raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (cff.org) to help them support research into new treatments and ultimately a cure. Research equals life.  

Nicholas is my 15 year old son. He sometimes likes to spell it "Nick". When Nic was 2-days old he had major surgery to fix a problem in his intestines. It was a miracle of modern medical science that he survived. Since he was a little baby we have supported the CFF and their annual Great Strides walk-a-thon campaign. It is a yearly event usually attended by families and friends of people with CF. We always have a lot of fun. Our local walk is held at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.

Our family can attest to the progress that comes from targeted research into fighting this disease. Several of the medications that Nic has taken were direct results of the CFF's support for those promising drugs while they were being developed. It is important to do everything we can to help fund research not just for Nic but also for the thousands of other CF patients out there. The CFF certainly lives up to its motto: adding tomorrows everyday

Hopefully this blog is gonna be a collaborative effort between me and Nic. We are both going to write posts here so be prepared for that. Nic is just like any other 15-year-old in every way. It's just that while dealing with being a teenager, he also has to deal with a serious disease everyday of his life. He does a pretty good job of coping with it all most of the time. He generally does pretty well in school and even volunteers for the YMCA Leader's Club. As Dad, i spend a lot of time making sure Nic takes his meds. I also take a lot of pictures and will be posting some of them here.

Please consider sponsoring Nic's Team this year. I will be posting more info on that very soon. Come back here again to see how we are doing. Any comments are welcome.


THANKS,
Nic's Dad




To get things started here is a pic of a 7-year-old Nic walking the course at Great Strides 2003...

.....this was the first post on this new blog. stay tuned for more....