Strides in the fight against Cystic Fibrosis

Vestavia Hills resident Clay Hagler’s oldest child, Maddie, was born with Cystic Fibrosis in 2006, and every year since then he has participated in the annual Great Strides Walk, sponsored by the Alabama chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

“The walk provides the Cystic Fibrosis community the necessary funds to battle the disease on many levels,” he said. “The money raised has helped develop life-changing drugs and therapies that have increased the average lifespan of Cystic Fibrosis patients from 14 years of age to their mid-30s. Not only are we battling the disease, but we are also assisting the local economy. Many of the research studies are performed in Birmingham at UAB (at the Gregory Fleming James CF Research Center) and Children’s Hospital.”

On May 18, Veterans Park will be filled with kids crafts, Zumba dancing, clowns, music, food and a signature 5K as a part of the event.

“Our Great Strides event is a day of celebrating the funds our Great Strides teams have raised in the fight against CF,” said Jennifer McEuen, associate executive director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Alabama. “It’s a great way to have fun while making a difference for a child or young adult with this life-threatening disease, whether or not you know anyone personally with CF!”

The event represents the CF community of Vestavia Hills, as well as greater Birmingham, with families from surrounding neighborhoods turning out in droves to support a loved one or friend living with CF.

UAB and Children’s also house the Foundation’s accredited care centers, which in total serve a combined CF population of 400 patients from across Alabama.

 “Because of our local research presence, as well as the care centers at Children’s and UAB, we receive back from our national office much more than we put in to the overall fundraising each year,” said McEuen. “In fact, on average, Alabama receives at least twice as much as we raise annually.”

That represents more than $10 million reinvested back into Birmingham for CF research. Recently, Birmingham-led research efforts resulted in the development of Kalydec, approved by the FDA in January 2012.

For more information about the race, including registration either as an individual or for a team, visit cff.org/Great_Strides/dsp_RegistrationType.cfm.