Pocono News Section

Making "Great Strides" in Conquering Cystic Fibrosis

Making "Great Strides" in Conquering Cystic Fibrosis - Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 04:14AM EST

Reported by:
Saturday May 01 2010
Making "Great Strides" in Conquering Cystic Fibrosis

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY - Kirby Park was filled with walkers of all ages on Saturday.

They were there with one purpose in mind -- to help conquer Cystic Fibrosis. It's a life-shortening disease that strikes 30,000 children and adults -- a disease that causes great difficulties with a person's respiratory and digestive systems. "People with cystic fibrosis in order to live a healthy life face challenges every day... treatments to clear their lungs, enzymes before they eat," said Linda Capozello.

She is Executive Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter. She helped organize this Great Strides walk -- a fund-raiser that's drawn about twice as many walkers as last year. "Certainly when you have a childhood illness, people do come around and are very generous and kind and supportive," said Capozellol.

Many people decided to form teams for people they know who are stricken with cystic fibrosis. Crestwood 7th Grader Bethanie Jones formed Team Macho Brothers. She rounded up some friends to walk on behalf of her two cousins who both have cystic fibrosis. "I feel bad because they don't really have a big life span and, like, I want them to survive as long as they can," said the Luzerne County girl. "I want them to be normal and not have to worry about it when they get older."

Getting older wasn't much of an option for children with cystic fibrosis a half-century ago. Few lived long enough to enter grade school. But, today, many make it into adulthood. "The average life expectancy is now 37 years of age," said Capozello. "But we're making wonderful strides and we're pushing that back literally by years."

Giving people with cystic fibrosis -- and their families -- reason to keep trying to find a cure -- one step at a time. The goal was to raise $35,000 at the Great Strides walk. All of the money raised goes toward research and treatment of cystic fibrosis.