Christie Clifford-Salema, a 1985 graduate of Exeter Area High School, is making a special plea to other graduates and current students of the regional school to become involved in this cause. Imagine if the future was uncertain for your child, niece or nephew. I'm asking you to join the fight in a national cause with a very local interest. Jamie Clifford, Wayne Barrows, John Harris, Chris Schott, Shaun Henneberry, Dan Sweet, Kimball Lewis and Matt Vrees, all 1987 EAHS graduates, will be walking on May 19 as part of Team Trevor, along with Durval Salema and Scott Szuba, both of the Class of 1988, and 1990 graduate Dwight Strout. The lives that will benefit from the proceeds of this year's walk include not just those who have the disease.
Cystic fibrosis takes a toll on families as well.
There are lots of medicines and a lot of time is spent in germ warfare wiping down tables and avoiding other kids who are sick. Clifford-Salema said that although doctors and nurses urge the parents of children with cystic fibrosis to try to raise their kids as normally as possible, the reality is there is always a sense of fear. Children with cystic fibrosis are particularly sensitive to respiratory illnesses, and each illness can cause damage to the child's lungs that cannot be repaired. As much as you try to raise your child normally, there is always this thing in the back of your head always something you have to do. Trevor was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 4 months old, and Kate's parents found out she had the disease when she was 7 months old.