Dear Concerned Friend,
Tova is a fun loving fifth
grader who can jump rope and run with the best of them. Her
big smile and high spirits make her a very popular little
girl. Though she might appear well from the outside, beneath
the surface tells a very different story. At eleven
months old, Tova was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). CF
is a very serious genetic disease, which causes the body to
produce abnormally thick mucus. As this mucus takes its toll
in a child's daily life, it leads to chronic lung infections,
and irrevocable lung damage. Without constant care, CF can
even tragically shorten a child's life. As Tova's father, I am
always amazed how each day she rises to the challenge and
doesn't allow CF to get the best of her.
In Israel there are
over four hundred CF children whose condition and family
circumstances vary. What they all have in common is that
children with CF require constant care and treatment. To keep
these kids alive and out of the hospital, parents are faced
with numerous daily challenges, not to mention the constant
anxiety they endure having a chronically ill child. Keeping up
with the numerous daily-required treatments they must give
their children, including massage therapy, inhalations, and
other physical activities is enough of a burden. That, coupled
with the financial stress that treatments and medications
impose is sometimes too much to bear.
In April 1997, I
established a fund, Concerned Friends of Cystic Fibrosis
(CFCF), in order to help alleviate some of the financial and
emotional burdens that CF families face. Funds collected by
CFCF are given to families who, if qualify, are able to
purchase the basic needs for a CF child to survive.
Your generous gift
to CFCF will make the difference in the quality of life and
health for CF children and their families.
Thank you for your
support! Joe Shapiro - Founder/Father
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