When my daughter was diagnosed with a chronic, life-threatening condition – cystic fibrosis, at just 6 days old, I knew my family would be supportive. I knew I had a few close friends who would also be there when I needed them. I even expected to lose a few friends, both because I was now a mom and because seeing a sick child is hard. What I didn’t expect was to find friends in corners I never expected.
The first few months after her diagnosis were isolating. It was winter in Vermont – that alone can feel isolating. But Maggie was too fragile to take out into the world and we didn’t dare expose her to germs unnecessarily. It was a quiet time in our lives. We started fundraising for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation almost immediately and in the year and a half since then I have been amazed at the support we have received.
Our annual walk, which will be our second, is this Sunday, September 19. It is the Great Strides walk put together by the CF Foundation. There are at least three people walking for Maggie that have never even met her. They are former coworkers of mine who care enough to take time out of their own hectic lives full of kids and babies and work to help me and my family. They are people who know how to sympathize and know that actions speak louder than words.
In June, the restaurant I’ve worked at for the last seven years held a Tips for a Cure night in honor of Maggie. I expected some of my coworkers/friends to volunteer for the night, what I didn’t expect was for some of the new staff to sign up too. These were people I had known for a matter of weeks, if not days. People who didn’t even know before signing up that my daughter has CF. They are just that caring. And they raised a lot of money for me. They even had to claim that money to the IRS as tips. It didn’t matter to them. They saw someone who needed help, and they helped.
If only everyone in the world was as generous as these individuals. If only everyone could step out of their own shoes for a moment. Step out of their own world of problems and errands and stresses and take the time to help a fellow human being. What a better place this world would be. They have inspired me to be a more giving, compassionate person. They have shown me that there is hope and friendship in the world even in the places you would least expect to find them. And from the bottom of my heart, I thank them. Everyone who is working with me in honor of Maggie is a hero, from the $1 donors on up to the walkers and those who help me plan fundraisers. Because it is actually true, that although they may think of it as the just right thing to do, they are literally helping to save my daughter’s life, just as much as her CF doctors and nurses are.
I am only one. But I am one.
I can’t do everything, but I can do something.
And what I can do – I ought to do.
And what I ought to do – by the grace of God I will do.
-Sister Mary Peter Moore, R.S.M.