"Another show of the support and giving that the Geocoin Secret Agent has done. With the help of other cachers money is raised to help out this family. What beautiful hearts these people have." ( Dardevle )
Cystic Fibrosis is an incurable disease which usually begins in infancy, is potentially fatal and affects multiple body systems such as lungs, pancreas, skeleton and skin. Some of the many symptoms of C F include bronchitis, pneumonia, respiratory failure, diabetes, nutritional deficiencies, and failure to thrive. Therapy is individualized and carefully monitored and will need to be continued throughout life.
For any parent, it would be devastating to learn that your child has this incurable disease, but the family we have designed this coin for has had twice the amount of devastation and heartbreak as two of their children have been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.
The first born, Kaitlyn, age 13, was born 8 weeks early weighing 4lbs. 4oz. and required surgery on her first day of life, diagnosed with (Meconium illeus) a bowel obstruction. She was diagnosed with CF during her 1 month stay at Valley Children’s Hospital. Until she finally stabilized at age 3, she required numerous hospitalizations due to pneumonia and failure to thrive. At 8 years old, she required a gastrostomy tube (a feeding tube in her abdomen) to maintain her weight. In the last 1 ½ years her health has declined and hospitalizations became more frequent. At this time, she is in the hospital due to respiratory difficulty and in need of a lung transplant in the very near future.
The family’s worst fears were confirmed 1 ½ years after Kaitlyn’s birth when doctors performed an amniocentisis on Jill (Kaitlyn’s mother) and diagnosed Kaitlyn’s baby brother (Jerrod) with CF before he was born. Jerrod required frequent hospitalizations during infancy and by the age of 7, his lungs were failing. Jerrod was rushed to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles and was given a successful lung transplant. At that time Jerrod was one of the youngest people ever to survive a successful lung transplant.
All of the profits from the sales of these Geocoin Secret Agent coins and other coins will be given to this family to assist in paying for Kaityln’s lung transplant. A number of wonderful people have also donated coins, which will be included in the GSA auctions and auctioned off seperately. Please watch my auctions over the entire month of April as I will continuously be auctioning off geocoins.