Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!
 

My name is David Maginnis, and this foundation and the community that supports it has been life changing for my family.

A little about me: I'm an Account Manager with Accredo Packaging, where we use wind electricity to manufacture post consumer recycled films and pouches for the Food and Beverage industry. Outside of work, I volunteer at my local animal shelter, and love spending time being active with my wife and son.

Shortly after my older sister was born, my parents realized something wasn't right. She was constantly sick, and after more than a dozen consultations with different doctors, she was finally diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) at just 8 months old in the early 90s. Neither of my parents knew what CF was or that they were both carriers of the disease. At that time, the average life expectancy for someone with CF was only about 30 years.
 

The daily routine of someone living with CF is exhausting. Growing up every meal required more than 20 enzyme pills for my sister, two nebulizer treatments each day, along with 45 minutes of manual percussions every morning and night. My parents would position her in different ways on the floor, on her sides, and with part of her body hanging off the couch and begin the targeted percussions. Today, an inflatable therapy vest has replaced the percussions, but the daily commitment remains. The vest helps clear mucus from the lungs, while the enzymes allow her body to properly digest and absorb nutrients.

After countless hospital admissions at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, my sister found her calling. Inspired by the nurses who cared for her throughout her childhood, she earned her nursing degree from Duquesne University and gained experience within the Pittsburgh UPMC system. Eventually, she got the call to return to CHOP, but this time as a registered nurse - the definition of a true full circle moment. She now cares for patients in the very hospital where she once spent so much of her childhood and where her dream of becoming a nurse first began.

While she continues to deal with the everyday realities of living with CF, she is a wife, a proud mother of three beautiful healthy children, and still a compassionate nurse who dedicates her life to caring for others.

Her story is one of resilience, hope, and the power of continued research.

Thanks to organizations like the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, dedicated researchers, healthcare providers, and supporters, there have been incredible breakthroughs in treatment and technology, especially over the last decade. These advances have dramatically improved both quality of life and life expectancy for many people living with CF. With all that said, there is still no cure. Furthermore, approximately 10% of people living with CF are unable to benefit from the newest therapies because of their specific genetic mutations. These are the reasons the work is far from over.

Please help me reach my fundraising goal by making a tax-deductible donation. Every dollar supports critical research, life-changing treatments, and the ongoing search for a cure so that one day, CF will stand for Cure Found.

Thank you for your generosity, your support, and for being part of this mission.