This artwork by Meaghan is a little old but I thought that since I haven't updated the blog for so long I might soften you up with it.

A lot has happened since September.  The Xtreme Hike has come and gone.  It was another amazing experience for me.  I made new friends, met my hike day goal and exceeded my personal fundraising goal.  The hiker minimum is $2,500 but I set a goal of $3,000 and drum roll please...to date I have raised $5,916!!!  Thank you to everyone who believed in me and supported me.  Without the generous donations from you I could never have achieved this.  Next year I've got to break the $6,000 mark ;-)

Isn't it amazing, we're all smiles in the morning and still smiling late that evening, after a 25 mile hike.  That's just how the whole day was for us.  The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for hiking.  The most memorable part of my day is a story that you probably can't believe.  A big yellow dog stole the sandwich right out of my hand just one mile into the 13-14 mile second half of the day.  I wasn't as upset about losing the sandwich, I had enough water and snacks to finish, it was the handful of dog slobber I had in my sandwiches place.  I finished strong and felt great, much better than I thought I might.  I didn't even get a blister.

The week after the hike I participated in my "Combat CF" fundraising event.  I loved it!  It was a fantastic success.  We filled the studio and met if not exceeded our goal.  That night I put this jar on the table.  People bought guesses to answer for the number of pills Meaghan takes in an average "healthy" month.  In case you're wondering, it's 784 pills!  She does this every month of her young life.  You won't hear her complaining, she will tell you, "It's just part of what I have to do to stay healthy so I can go to school and play with my friends."  If you're anything like me, that number seems impossible but think about this; in a year Meaghan takes an average 9,408 pills.  Meaghan is still very young and I think in pretty good health considering and that's a HUGE number of pills.  There are many more people fighting CF and many of them take considerably more medication.  By giving to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation we are aiming to change that.  We dream about a day that to win the fight against this terrible disease we can count pills on the fingers of one hand, no calculator necessary.






This is incredible.  One year before this picture was taken Meaghan was just released from the hospital.  She was working hard to get strong enough just to go to school.  In one year, she started school on the first day like her brothers and her peers then crushed 35 laps in the "fun run" at school.  I watched her run around and around with hundreds of other kids with tears filling my eyes and spilling down my cheeks.  What a remarkable change.  The school principal stopped to share a few of those proud moments with me, she was overcome with the emotion of it too.  Meaghan is proof every single day of what believing can do for you.  Nothing is impossible, no one, nothing stands against her and succeeds. 

Halloween.  I have no idea where the idea to be an angel came from, it was a surprise to me.  There have been times that Meaghan said or did something that left me speechless but the moment she said, "I want to be an angel!" takes the prize for putting the biggest lump in my throat.  I hugged her and said that she already is but her mind was made up.  She made the prettiest little angel.  

That same night Meaghan FINALLY lost her third tooth.  This tooth had been wiggling for more than a month but just wouldn't give up and fall out.  She was at the dentist two weeks earlier and even then the hygienist couldn't easily get it to fall out.  I'm not sure if I ever wrote about the other two teeth so you have to understand that Meaghan didn't let on she had loose teeth, she just yanked them out and brought them to me.  So this tooth was on our last nerve, it was time to go.  One sticky Lemonhead on Halloween did her in.  It was ugly, the crying and bleeding seemed to last forever.  One of my neighbors came with her boys to the door and I drug her into the bathroom to help.  She got Meaghan to stop crying but Meaghan would NOT let her pull the tooth.  Finally, I asked Meaghan to let me clean her face up and with just the corner of a paper towel I gave the tooth one final push and it dropped onto the counter.  Now Meaghan tells everyone that I yanked her tooth out as if I gave her no choice in the matter.  

The way the tiger pops from the page is really the only reason I took this picture.  Meaghan and I read together before bed, usually a chapter book like Ramona or an Animal Ark story.  Then she reads to herself for a while, mostly from her bible.  When I go into her room before I go to bed, to add water to her formula, I always have to take a book away and turn off the lamp.  I don't think I could sleep through the night after reading from a National Geographic wild animal book but Meaghan can.  She can cuddle up with a wild tiger and dream sweet dreams all night long.

I made it up to this week now.  I'm still trying to get in time on the trail as much as I can and Meaghan loves to keep me company.  When she goes with me I pick one of my short loops in the Daniels Area of Patapsco Valley State Park.  This is the shortest because we had to beat the sunset this day.  It's almost two miles start to finish and Meaghan finishes with me faster than Jimmy does.  A fact she rubs in every time we go out.  It is just the thing I need some days.  We walk and talk and I feel every stress, fear, worry and doubt melt away.  During the walks this fall I can see through the trees all around us and it's just me and my girl in the world, these are special moments I store up to get me through the tough times.   

We are working through some of our tough times now.  Meaghan has been dealing with a gastritis for almost a month and just yesterday developed a cough.  We haven't found the right treatment for her gastritis yet and we think it was triggered by anxiety.   3 weeks ago, after heaving and retching for 3 hours then bringing up blood we were told to pack a bag, we were headed off to the hospital.  Fortunately, Meaghan stopped everything and fell asleep.  For the next 6 hours she rested and recovered quickly.  The same thing happened two more times over the next two weeks.  I kept her home from school on a Tuesday to take her to the pediatrician so she could be cultured and tested for strep and uti's.  Everything came back negative so we talked about going to school.  That's when she said she didn't want to go.  She told her pediatrician and I that she has been teased in school by a couple boys.  They were calling her Meg and she hated it.  Worse than that she didn't think she should tell anyone because she didn't want to get in trouble for tattling.  Everyone who needs to know, knows now and I have to believe that this is behind us.  Unfortunately, her gastritis remains.  One hour from now I am headed to the pediatricians office so they can listen to her lungs after the development of a cough.  I'm telling myself to prepare for the worst BUT hope for the best.  That's all we can do, HOPE, and treat what we can treat as it comes up.  

The CF Foundation is working tirelessly to find the medication or combination of that Meaghan and the others like her need to change CF.  The future of CF treatment is to call it a condition that can be managed with a simpler daily regimen.  

I leave you with this for now.  As you think about what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving, be sure to give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and pray for the rest of them.  Then consider making a donation to the CF Foundation to whom we are thankful every day for giving us the blessing of more tomorrows.