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About Time: Breath of Life Gala

The Breath of Life Gala:

They are honoring Sara and Marie!!!! My nurses from Clinic! I had these two amazing women as my main nurses for over 21 years!

I shared my feelings/story for the MC to read at the Gala. I'm very happy and honored to be able to tell everyone how amazing they are and how much they mean to me and the other CFers! After the Gala (next weekend) I will tell you what I wrote and more details.

As many of you know, these two ladies did sooo much work over the years! Even while I was away at U of I, I would call them if I was sick and they would ask me questions over the phone, help me figure everything out, get ahold of the doctor, gets my prescriptions filled and sent, and check up on me! If I left a voicemail, within a few minutes they would call back. They were always willing to help and always WANTED to help!

At Clinic, I was always excited to see them and tell them everything that has happened! I always wanted to gain weight and see them smile when I stepped off the scale!

Even though I go to Dr. B now, it doesn't mean I have stopped thinking or caring about Sara and Marie. The fact is when I was debating switching clinics, it was the thought that I'd be leaving Sara and Marie that would make me sad. I couldn't imagine starting over with a new nurse, one who wouldn't ask me how life was, how the play I was in went, or if I was dating anyone. They weren't just my nurses, they were my friends. They really cared about me. They care about all of us CFers! But I knew they would want me to do what is best for me. So a in May 2011 I left Sara and Marie and joined Dr B's Clinic (private practice, he hates the term clinic) in Chicago.

Last Saturday proved me right. I saw them at the GreatStrides walk, I got soo excited to see them! When they saw how good I looked and I told them my lung function has gone up from the 30s to 60s and that I was 106-107 in weight, they looked like they were soo happy, they were going to cry. I also told them I did a 5K and that I'm really getting healthy, they were all smiles. Of course, which makes me smile, but also sad to realize I miss them!

I gave up two of the MOST amazing nurses to go to Dr. B! I was a tough decision, but in the last year I have done so well, I know I made the right choice and now, Sara and Marie are proud of me too!

I'm beyond happy that these two women are finally getting publicly recognized for their dedication to the CF community and their patients! And the Breath of Life Gala is a large fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis reasearch too, which is something they support in their spare time (going to galas, Cf walks, etc)!!

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