Local sharpshooters aim to raise funds for cystic fybrosis this Saturday, October 3, in the Kenai Peninsula’s second annual Shoot For the Cure.
Event organizer Karen Rey’s 23-year-old daughter Mattie suffers from cystic fybrosis; she says research has improved the lives of those diagnosed with the genetic disease significantly.
Rey: “Children with Cystic Fibrosis generally create a lot of extra mucus in their lungs, it’s kind of a glitz on the sodium transport so they produce a lot mucus a lot of coughing and can end up over time with progressive of scarring of the lungs. In the 60’s and 70’s these children weren’t living into their teens and now the average mean age in into the 30’s.”
Over the past ten years Rey has raised about $1 million for research through nine Shoot For the Cures just outside Anchorage and last year’s first Kenai Peninsula event.
Those connected her with other parents affected by cystic fibrosis like Harmony Anthony who spoke with us about when her daughter was diagnosed shortly after birth.
Anthony: “I said oh, ok so what do we need to do and they bring out a big nebulizer machine, they bring out a big grocery bag full of medication and then they bring in the physical therapist to show me how to do this physical therapy twice a day and then inform this is what you do for the rest of your life. Right now it’s only twice a day, and I mention something, that well I work full time I’ll have to jungle this and they said well most moms don’t work when they have a kids like this. So it kind of hit me like a ton of bricks.”
This weekend’s Shoot For the Cure will take place Saturday, October 3rd, at the Snowshow Gun Club.
