28 years ago, my parents learned that my sister Olivia will be a fighter for the rest of her life. Knowing that their daughter would never live a normal life as a little girl was unfathomable. As her younger brother, I never fully understood why she had to miss hanging out with her friends after school to do her treatments, or wake up extra early every morning to hold a strange mist pipe in her mouth, or why she takes several pills before eating. To me, that was just Olivia. But as I grew older, it finally occurred to me the sacrifices she’s made for years.

This was important to me because seeing her fight allowed me to understand two critical life lessons at a young age. 1: Just because you don’t live a normal life, doesn’t mean you can’t live a successful one. 2: When you feel like you might be losing control in life, your best and only countermove is to keep pushing no matter how hard, or how weak the push may be. Any forward push is still a progression.

As for Olivia, she has made remarkable progress. But when it comes to Cystic Fibrosis, progress is something you can never have too much of. The CF community has made great strides, but we will continue the fight until we find that cure.

All I ask is that you join the fight with me, my sister, my family, your neighbor, and the whole Cystic Fibrosis community. Whether it’s $1, $5, $20, or $200, let’s make a little bit of progress today.