14 December 2022
The holiday season is a joyous time, catching up with family and friends, and for many, is the opportunity for a summer holiday.
The reality for our families is that CF doesn't take a break for the holidays. Some families will have to cancel their plans in place of a hospital admission, or take extra steps to ensure they can safely take a break to see they people they love this Christmas.
All we want for Christmas this year, is to be able to continue providing extra joy to families in our CF community who really need additional support in the holiday season. What small thing can you do this Christmas to support a family like Poppy, Sophie and Chris? Read more about their story below. Collectively we can make a difference to their lives and help bring joy to families like theirs this Christmas.
We wish you a very happy and safe summer.
Meri Kirihimete!
A Christmas wish for Poppy
When the world was right in the thick of COVID-19, Sophie and Chris were thrust into their own stressful journey, their beautiful little girl Poppy was born, and ten days later was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. On top of the already overwhelming nature of having a new-born, they had to get their heads around understanding this condition which would affect Poppy for whole of life.
“We had to work out how to navigate this new path, learning what is and isn’t safe for Poppy, the extra precautions we had to put in place, learn how to do chest physio, give antibiotics, and fit in regular clinic appointments at Starship.”
Poppy had a long winter with 13 weeks on oral antibiotics, which led to a two-week hospital admission at Starship. A daunting time for the whole family, but Poppy, like many other people with CF, has resilience in spades. They survived the hospital stay thanks to their incredible family and friends, messages of encouragement from our CF community, and support from CFNZ.
Heading into summer, Sophie, Chris, and Poppy are looking forward to a family getaway in Waihi. But CF never takes a break – a lot of planning went into finding suitable accommodation that is safe for Poppy, away from tank water and ponds. Being on holiday doesn’t change the amount of physio and treatment Poppy requires, its frequent, and demanding, but necessary to keep Poppy out of hospital.
For Christmas, Poppy has asked for a Bluey toothbrush, but Sophie and Chris have a bigger Christmas wish for Poppy - they alongside many other families, are waiting for equitable access to the life changing drug, Kalydeco.
What can you gift to help a family like Poppy's this Christmas?
