My sister Michelle was diagnosed with CF when she was 2. I remember the day we were told because my entire family were there and there was lots of crying. The main reason for this was that back then in the mid 70's the prognosis was usually to let parents know that their child was likely to die and not live a full life. They were to be locked into a life of continuous tablet taking, constant monitoring for chest infections, daily physiotherapy to loosen phlegm build up on their lungs and a diet of foods that would encourage weight gain. All of this then becomes a vicious circle of tablets for digestion and foods for weight, a nice contradiction of two things trying to both achieve the same thing with the body working against it.
It all sounds too much but that is just the beginning. Imagine being a child, from the age of 2 having to be forced to endure all of the above and then add to it the fact that they would have regular visits to hospital for "Tune ups" which meant IV drips, doctors poking and prodding you, physiotherapists making you do things you may not want to do even though it is for your own good and so on.
I admire the child and teenager or adult for that matter that lives a life this way. In my family we all just did what we had to do. Sacrifices were made by our whole family that were miniscule in comparison to my sisters suffering.
Most of my life I was surrounded by a beautiful girl who had to live this life. Fortunately she was quite "healthy" for majority of her life until she reached her teenage years.
She spent a couple of years at high school quite normally but then became too sick to attend. She attempted correspondence school studies for a year but Michelle seemed to sink further into herself and it was decided for her to go back to school on a part time basis at least.
It got all too much and Michelle's health deteriorated quickly. With most CF sufferers there can be a very short time frame between being healthy and passing away. A blunt fact but that is what it is. I had visited Michelle in hospital one night to find a gorgeous girl entertaining a large group of friends. She was smiling, laughing and enjoying their company. I look back now and think how difficult it is to have seen her from the outside being so perfect and looking great that you sometimes forget that there is anything wrong on the inside. I spent time there and then headed to my parents home where they, with great difficulty, informed me that my sister only had 3 months to live. You can imagine hearing news like that is a huge shock. I laughed and told my parents they were crazy and this was not a funny joke. It took a really long time for all this to sink in, I think almost to the day that she did pass.
All of this is the reason behind why I, my family and the workers at Hedger Constructions want to raise funds and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis. It is the most common life-threatening illness affecting Australian children. We need to find a cure to help the children suffering from CF and their families. It is a tremendous strain on families physically, mentally and financially.
Please get behind this cause and make a difference to someone else's life.
Many Thanks
Sharon Hedger
