Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk

My friends, Tamila and Kevin
Kevin rolling in for his surprise birthday party

Happy 8th Birthday!

Each year, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation hosts the Great Strides Walk to raise money for a cure. After working with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients now for over 6 years, I have become very passionate about these patients and their disease. One little CF boy in particular, Kevin, has really touched my heart. Some of you might remember hearing about Kevin; Kevin is the reason Tyson and I got back in touch after many years. You see, Kevin has end stage CF. He has been very sick since he was really little, and he has been in and out of the hospital so much, he considers it home. The nurses have become his mamas, friends, sisters, etc...it's really not that hard to fall in love with him and take on these rolls. As you can tell from the pictures above, Kevin usually celebrates his holidays (like his birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, etc) at the hospital. Well for Christmas of 2005, we decided to throw Kevin a Christmas party since he was going to be in the hospital over the holiday. That's when I got the brilliant idea to have Tyson, who was a graduate assistant for UGA at the time, bring some UGA football players to the hospital to see Kevin. I wish I had some pictures of that day because it was the happiest I have ever seen that little boy. He was so surprised!! Kevin is still fighting everyday to breathe, but until a cure is found, his life on this earth will be cut short. If you are interested in helping Kevin and so many other CF patients like him, here is how you can help. My friend, Tamila, who is a nurse at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, is participating in the Great Strides Walk in Atlanta, and she is accepting donations for the cause. Please visit her website http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/TamilaDulaney for more information. Thank you!