My birthday has never been something of a big deal for me. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the fact that I’m getting older despite what experts called “a childhood disease” when I was born. I love getting older, getting grayer and surpassing milestones. The thing is I celebrate every day — one has no more importance over the other when it comes to cystic fibrosis.
Celebrating days and eating potato chips are very similar. One is never enough.
It’s not like I can sleep in because it’s my birthday, or skip my treatments, meds or workout routine. CF doesn’t care if it’s my birthday. The disease is relentless.
This year, once again, I declare victory over this disease. I ran my 23rd consecutive Peachtree Road Race; spent plenty of time with my wife and children; and worked very hard to combat this disease. I got to be an assistant coach for my daughter’s team and a head coach for my son’s team, and hope all the children I spent time coaching learned a lot and had fun.
Over the last 365 days, I have done more than 50,000 minutes of vest
I’m grateful for the support and the positive publicity The CF Warrior Project received from the online community and I’m thankful to everyone who participated in it. Calling myself a CF warrior and putting myself in the same company as each of these people, as well as the 70,000 others in the world who fight this disease, is an absolute honor. I’m also proud of the success Wish for Wendy Foundation has experienced. We raised another $400,000+ in the last year for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and have eclipsed the $4 million mark in
With CF, birthdays take on a very special role especially once you have eclipsed the median life expectancy. On the other hand, I also know each year I get older, CF will get tougher. But newsflash: I’ll get tougher too. I relish the underdog role and will continue to do so as we fight this disease day in and day out, whether it’s my birthday or any other day for that matter.
Live your dreams and love your life.
Andy
Consider Donating to the CF Warrior Project in honor of another trip around the sun!