Great Strides Walk!

Today is the Great Strides Walk where people all over the country will walk to raise money for CF research. Thank you people across the country! And thank you to everyone who donated to those people! If you wanted to sponsor my family and forgot, there is still time. You can do it here.
Even if you just want to leave a message wishing them well, they would appreciate that too. Thank you to everyone who supported them and CF research!

Speaking of CF research, really randomly, one of the ladies in my pottery class works with sputum samples from people with CF from the St. Mikes and the Sick Kids Hospitals. When I told her that I was waiting for a transplant due to CF, she was excited to tell me all about her research. She is an evolutionay microbiologist who studies the evolution of one of the common viruses in people as they age.

They hope that by understanding the adaptations of the virus, they will be able to come up with better treatments over a persons life. We tried to figure out if she would have any of my sputum samples but all of hers are over 8 months old so she wouldn't have any of my stuff. However, someone else in her lab looks at the antibiotic resistance of the new samples so my sputum has definitely been there. The research is happening and it's pretty exciting. Her research won't help me now but hopefully it can help young people with CF so they can keep their lungs as healthy for as long as possible.

Hope everyone has a great walk today! 

The CN Tower was blue and turquoise last night in honor of CF Awareness Month and the Great Strides Walk. I'm not sure how much awareness is raised by turning the tower blue but judging by the Tower's list of lightening schedule , it seems to be a thing that organizations do.