For a few years now we have adopted the hashtag #BreatheEasier to describe the work we do here at the Cystic Fibrosis Association of North Dakota. We aim to help people living with CF to breathe easier physically, financially and emotionally. This can be a daunting task, but it guides what we do.
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters (that is YOU!), we can do more than ever before to help our families living with cystic fibrosis.
We thought it would be good to take some time to let you know about the impact of your gifts. Your gifts help real people, living right here in North Dakota.
In order to receive benefits from CFA, a person must be born in North Dakota, live in North Dakota, have been diagnosed with CF in North Dakota or receive medical treatment in North Dakota.
Our benefits to CFA members are unique in that they are direct aid, exactly where our members need them. One of the most significant ways that we help our friends to breathe easier is through our medication reimbursement program. You may have read about the outrage last year about the soaring price of epi pens for people living with life-threatening allergies. The cost of these pens went from about $100 each to over $600. Well, people living with CF can certainly relate to this. Individuals living with cystic fibrosis take upwards of 40 different dosages of medications a day. One of the most promising and effective medications costs $450 a DAY! Now, insurance picks up some of the cost of these medications, and often the drug companies offer a discount program as well. However, even after this assistance, there is still a pretty significant portion left for the individuals, our friends with CF, to pay. This is where CFA comes in. We help pay a portion of the costs of these medications that insurance does not. This helps our friends with CF to breathe easier physically—as they can continue to afford these life-changing medications, and financially. Thanks to YOU we can do this great work!
Recently we added a travel benefit to help our members get the very best care that they can. Our friends with CF live all across our great state, and many have to travel many miles several times a year for check-ups. (The current recommendation for someone with CF is to see their physician 4 times a year in order to maintain optimal health.) For young children, this means parents have to take time off of work to travel several hours to the nearest or best CF clinic. For adults living with CF, they too have to take time off of work to get the care they need. We help pay for gas milage to get to these physician visits in order to encourage regular care and to ease the financial burden of traveling long distances for specialized care. For those who have to travel more than 250 miles, we also offer a lodging benefit. This travel benefit helps our members to breathe easier physically, financially, and emotionally.
Your donations also help fund our generous college scholarships for people living with CF. The life expectancy for someone living with CF is now over 37 years old. With these added years, comes a need for a solid education. Our friends with CF are living full adult lives—and they themselves can change the world. We want them to have an even playing field and a chance to further their education. It is also important that the college student living with CF take good care of their health—which means keeping up with therapies and treatments. A young person with CF spends up to an hour morning and evening on breathing treatments—and during times of illness can spend much more time. We want to even the playing field and help our friends with CF pay for college so that they do not have to choose between a job to pay for college and taking care of their health. Thanks to you we have friends graduating from college and joining the work force every year. Because of YOUR generous donations, these college students can breathe easier!
Thanks to YOU we can make a real difference in the lives of people living with CF. If you would like to help more, visit CFANorthDakota.com and click on the donate button, or join us at one of our golf tournaments this summer. If you know someone who may benefit from our programs, please encourage them to visit CFANorthDakota.com and click on the join button in order to get more information about a CFA membership.
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Cystic Fibrosis Association of North Dakota 