What do you do when your child has a terminal illness?  You decide you are going to fight it... With all your soul!

When our daughter was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in 1997, we knew very little about the disease, but we knew that someday, if a cure was not found, we would be left to watch our daughter struggle to stay alive.  At the time Bella was diagnosed, the average life expectancy for a "CF" patient was 27, not much older than we were as struggling parents.  It is nearly impossible to explain the feeling of hoplessness and lack of direction one feels.

But, we decided that this would not be our daughter's fate.  Cystic Fibrosis would not be stronger than our resolve.  We took it to task to learn as much about this disease as we could and be proactive in following current research to help as best as we could.  Along the way, we discovered the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) and all the "great strides" they were making to eliminate CF.  We immediately determind that we could do the most beneficial work by helping with local fundraising efforts to assist the CFF in funding critical life extending research.

Through critical advances in research, resulting from fundraising dollars, the life expectancy of Cystic Fibrosis patients has now surpassed 35 years!  Although this is a rewarding fact, there are still far too many patients that lose their battle in their childhood years. So we continue to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation because we are confident that, together, we can elimiate CF in our lifetime.

In 2001, we organized the group, "Isabella's Cause," in order to put a name and face on our fund raising efforts.  Our main fundraising efforts center around the regional "Great Strides Walk for a Cure," in May, with additional events periodically throughout the remainder of the year.  If you would like to help, please visit the "How you can help" section of our site. 

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Isabella's Cause, and thank you for your helpful considerations.

About the CFF...

Since 1955, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has been the driving force behind the pursuit of a cure. Thanks to the dedication and financial backing of our supporters — patients, families and friends, clinicians, researchers, volunteers, individual donors, corporations and staff, we are making a difference.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the world’s leader in the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis. They fund more CF research than any other organization, and nearly every CF drug available today was made possible because of Foundation support.

They are a nonprofit donor-supported organization dedicated to attacking cystic fibrosis from every angle. Their focus is to support the development of new drugs to fight the disease, improve the quality of life for those with CF, and ultimately to find a cure. 

The Foundation's drug development model has been recognized by Harvard Business School and by publications such as Forbes, The New Yorker, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

The Foundation funds and accredits a national care center network that has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health as a model of care for a chronic disease.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is one of the most efficient organizations of its kind and is an accredited charity of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Is…Building on Success

• When the Foundation was established in 1955, children with CF rarely lived long enough to attend elementary school. Due in large part to the Foundation's aggressive investments in innovative research and comprehensive care, many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.
  
• In 1989, CF Foundation-supported scientists discovered the defective gene that causes cystic fibrosis — a monumental breakthrough on the road to a cure.
  
• The Foundation played an integral role in the development and FDA approval of four therapies that are now a routine part of treatment regimens for many with CF. The Foundation is actively supporting nearly 30 potential new treatments currently in development — that's more than in the entire history of the disease. One groundbreaking potential drug that treats the underlying cause of CF will be submitted for FDA review in late 2011.