Friends and family!

I am incredibly honored to be recognized by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as one of this years class of Rochester’s Finest, a program to recognize outstanding professionals in our community. More importantly, I’m honored to use this opportunity to support a cause that is very personal to my family.

As many know,  my wife, Carley, suffers from cystic fibrosis. For much of her life, she has battled this gruesome disease — requiring chest physical therapy, a gastronomy tube, countless medications and hospital admissions, etc. I’ve seen firsthand the challenges CF can bring, but I’ve also seen just how much hope and possibility can come from research and advances in treatment.

Today, Carley is healthy and thriving. She has benefited tremendously from the incredible progress that has been made in CF care — she is now breathing easier and living a life that at one time we weren’t sure she would be able to have. And now, we have a one-year-old son, Callahan.

Watching Carley thrive as a mother is something I don’t take for granted. It is a constant reminder of why supporting the CF Foundation matters so much to our family. We want Callahan to grow up knowing his mom as healthy and strong, and we want every person living with CF to have that same opportunity.

As part of accepting this distinction, I’ve committed to raising money to help the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation continue to achieve its mission: finding a cure for cystic fibrosis and ensuring that every person living with CF is able to live a long, fulfilling life.

I’m asking for your help in reaching my fundraising goal. Any donation, large or small, can make a difference. Your support helps fund research, advance new treatments, improve care, and give hope to families like ours. Help us make CF one day stand for CURE FOUND! 

Nearly 40,000 people in the United States are living with cystic fibrosis, a progressive genetic disease that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. Just 60 years ago, children with CF often didn’t live long enough to attend elementary school. Today, thanks in large part to Foundation-supported research and care, the median survival age for people with CF is now over 50. The Foundation and the CF community have helped drive the development of more than a dozen CF treatments and have added decades to the lives of people with CF.

But there is still so much work to be done. Many people with CF cannot benefit from the treatments currently available, and there is still no cure.

Our hope is that one day, CF will no longer define anyone’s future. A cure means a life free from the daily burden of this disease and the opportunity for every person with CF to live fully and without limits.

Please consider joining us by making a donation and helping support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Together, we can help change the future for everyone living with CF.

To learn more about cystic fibrosis and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, visit www.cff.org.