I am proud to be one of this year’s New York Elite honorees. New York’s Elite is a group of leaders from the Metro NY area who are committed to professional growth and a fundraising and awareness campaign that benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and their mission to find a cure for CF.

My mom, Stacy, was a Cystic Fibrosis warrior. She was born in 1964 and one of four children, three of whom had CF. My mom, her sister and brother fought hard to battle this terrible disease they were diagnosed with at birth. Sadly, her sister, Chrissy, only lived to be 8 years old and her brother, John, passed away a few years after receiving a double lung transplant. 

My mom was given a life expectancy of just 15 years old and was told that she would never be able to have children. She was determined to beat the odds. She went on to have three healthy children, dedicating herself to daily treatments so she could be there to see us grow up.

My brother, sister and I were so lucky to have had the strongest woman and role model as our mother. Some of our fondest childhood memories involve watching our mom speak at various Cystic Fibrosis events and fundraisers, sharing her story and fighting for the cure she dreamed to one day see.

Unfortunately, in 2009, this terrible disease took our mother from us at the age of 44. Not a day goes by where we do not think of and miss her. My family and I vowed to follow in my mom’s footsteps and do exactly what she would have wanted us to do - keep fighting for a cure. 

Please consider purchasing a ticket and joining us on Thursday, February 26 for New York’s Elite Evening event or donating to my page to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Thank you for helping to make my mom’s dream of CF one day standing for Cure Found one step closer to being a reality.