Running for CF

Growing up, I always wanted to be good at sports. I played basketball, volleyball, tried gymnastics, and swam on the swim team.  I went to all the practices and worked on skills at home. At games and meets I would hustle and pour my heart into trying to do my best. But, I was never very good at any sport I tried. I really wanted to be good and while I consider myself somewhat athletic, I just wasn’t ever a good ball handler, very fast or particularly great at any sport I tried. 

I started running in college for fun and discovered that I loved it. Like most of my past sport endeavors, try as I might, I’m also not a very great runner. My PRs are not impressive and even though I’ve been running for the better part of 16 years, I never have and never will qualify for the Boston Marathon. The thing about running though, is you don’t have to be very good or very fast, you just have to do it! I’ve ran 5Ks and 10Ks, relays, half marathons, full marathon and even a triathlon. 

I like running and I like training and I love getting to do it with other people. Lance and I’s relationship began with running. Then we planned our entire wedding during runs together and we could usually talk and workout any problems on a run. Crosby joined us on our runs as soon as he could hold his head up and reached the minimum weight for the jogging stroller. We’ve ran races pushing Crosby and before he hit 35 pounds, he regularly hit the pavement with us.

The New York City Marathon is arguably the most popular marathon in the world. Most runners are selected to participate by lottery. You apply, pay and then leave it up to chance to find out if you get in. Lance and I said years ago we would love to do it together, but the odds of both winning the lottery the same year are not good. The other way into the NYC marathon is to run for a charity, so when we found out several years ago that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has a marathon team, we reached out and put our names on a long waiting list. Last January, we got the call.

So here we are in 2018 and the girl who was never very good at any sports is, God willing, going to get to run the New York City Marathon. Not only am I going to get to run it with Lance and some of our very closest friends by my side, but I’m going to get to run it in honor of Crosby, for the charity that is near and dear to my heart. I’m going to run 26.2 miles through New York City with Crosby’s name on my shirt and wearing a Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Breathe Team bib! I am nervous, I am excited and I am incredibly humbled that we get to do this!! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so very grateful.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us the past 6 months in our fundraising! Every single dollar donated goes directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In order to run the marathon for a charity, you have to raise a minimum dollar amount for that charity. (Just so there is not confusion, the money does not go to the marathon itself or towards our trip to NYC ). Our collective goal we need to hit is $20,000! We have not reached that yet, but have two more fundraisers coming up:

Saturday, October 6th – Fish Fry Fundraiser

Good Ole’ Down Home Fish Fry with all the Fixins 

4:00 – 6:30 

11500 Willow Beach Road, NLR

Suggested Donation: $20.00 per plate

RSVP to 501-680-7090

and then:

Friday, October 12th – Poker Night

Hosted by The 1836 Club

$100 Buy in

Online donations can be made at www.crowdrise.com/thecrosbyshow

Thank you for your support! We won't stop fundraising for a cure... UNTIL IT'S DONE!

CF, a Starfish, and Great Strides

We are continuing our efforts to support Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month!

You see this little boy right here?

This wonderful, happy, beautiful, little dude? He loves being outside, fruit, suckers, Mickey Mouse, and Minions. He has an impish grin and sweet spirit that melt just about everyone he meets. He is headstrong but has a heart of gold and all the charm you could imagine. He is naughty sometimes, but in my eyes, perfect and loved and he's more than I imagined when I was told I was going to be the momma of a boy. I do not have the words to express the joy he has put in my life.

But this boy, this one right here,

he has Cystic Fibrosis. CF is this evil genetic disease that attacks his lungs and digestive systems. 

Crosby was diagnosed with CF at 15 days old. Lance and I had hardly even ever heard of the disease, but technically, we gave it to him, genetically speaking and all. During those first couple of months, I was in this deep, dark sea of emotion. While navigating the challenges of being a first time mom and having a newborn, I was also trying to tackle and endure those endless chest therapy sessions, meds, nutrition, clinic appointments - all while absorbing a new diagnosis and it was a lot. 

We are three and half years in now, but there is still a deep lingering pain that settled into my mind, body and soul that fateful day. A pain that I would not wish upon anyone, ever. That pain exists because CF is ugly, gross, complicated, unfair and above all else, life shortening. There is no cure... (yet).

But you know what else has settled in me? An even deeper, unstoppable, indescribable mama bear force that cannot and will not allow me to give up. And that force is stronger than all that other stuff. I will not give up for Crosby. I will never stop fighting for him. And, I will not waiver in my support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which gives us the hope of more tomorrows!

As parents of a child with a devastating disease like Cystic Fibrosis, we feel a responsibility and drive to fight this disease with everything in our power.

It is not easy to call, write and email people, asking them to donate, walk with us and show their support. I don't necessarily like to do it, but it pales in comparison to all that Crosby and other CFers have to do in a day that they don't like.

Crosby looks like a normal, healthy 3 year old. What most people don't see is the hours that we spend on a daily basis administering medications and doing different therapies. You don't see him fight and cry twice a day, every day, when we have to force him to stop playing in order to do his Vest treatment to keep his lungs clear. You don't see the 20+ pills a day he takes in order to by able to absorb nutrients from the food he eats.

People ask me what they can do to help. What we need the most is a cure for CF. I don't want Crosby to have to face what this disease can do as he gets older.

Please help us by donating to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in their research for longer, healthier lives for CF patients. No amount is too small! Seriously, it's not.

Remember the starfish story? The one about the old man who asked the young man why he was throwing the starfish that were stranded on the shore after a storm back into the ocean. And the boy said that if he didn't, they would die when the sun got too hot because they couldn't do it by themselves. And then the older man laughed and said that there must be thousands of starfish on the beach and told the young man he wouldn't be able to throw enough back to matter. Then, the young man picked up another starfish, threw it into the ocean and said: "it mattered to that one".

Every. Dollar. Counts. It matters to me. It matters to Crosby. And it matters to all of the CF patients and families that directly benefit from those dollars that go to research.

The Great Strides Walk in Little Rock this year is Saturday, May 20th at 8:00am.

Please consider donating to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and join our fight for A BRIGHT FUTURE WITH CF! 

http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/GreatStrides/9_Arkansas_Little_Rock?team_id=58281&pg=team&fr_id=5918

With all my love,

Carmen

Team Crosby Show - A Bright Future with CF

Dear Family, Friends and Fans of The Crosby Show,

Have you signed up to Join The Crosby Show for the Great Strides Walk on Saturday, May 20th at 8AM at the Little Rock Zoo?

To register or simply show your support for our team, please follow this link:

Great Strides - The Crosby Show

The Crosby Show Team theme for Great Strides is "A BRIGHT FUTURE WITH CF" because we are walking for the BRIGHT FUTURES of those that suffer from Cystic Fibrosis. And those BRIGHT FUTURES are made possible by your support of the CF Foundation. So grab your neon attire, sign up today, and join The Crosby Show one month from today!!!

Saturday, May 20th at 8:00AM

The Little Rock ZOO

Great Strides - Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

May is National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month and during this month, the goal is to spread CF facts, inspiration, and hope! CF Awareness Month is all about education, lifting the veil to give you a behind-the-scenes view of  the invisible disease that is CF.

I have a lot of posts covering CF, so if you want to learn more, click here to see all my Cystic Fibrosis related posts. And here are some specific links below:

A Bad Word

An Orphan Disease

CF Facts

Genetics of CF

On Having a Baby with CF

CF Diagnosis

Orkambi

Bopping 

Kalydeco

CF @ 9 Months

CF Awareness Month is all about awareness, and we know that the next step after awareness is action—accelerating the pace of CF research to make breakthroughs and save lives. Consider making a donation, big or small, in honor of Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month! 

Great Strides - The Crosby Show

Love,

Lance, Carmen and Crosby