Topic/Title: The difficulties of living with Cystic Fibrosis Purpose Statement: To persuade my audience to donate time or money to support

the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Thesis Statement: Many strides have been made to increase life expectancy in people with CF, but there is still much to be done. I. ATTENTION: I want everyone to take a nice, big deep breath. Now, imagine going your whole life without being able to take a deep breath like that. For people with Cystic Fibrosis, this can be a reality of their lives. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundations web site, more than 30,000 people in the US suffer from Cystic Fibrosis. Many people think that that is a low number, until it touches them. Not only did I never meet my aunt who died of this horrendous disease more than fifty years ago, but my best friend Beth from high school also passed away at the age of 19. Many strides have been made to increase life expectancy in people with CF, but there is still much to be done. By the end of tonight, I hope that you will leave here with a better understanding of Cystic Fibrosis, and are moved to donate either time or money to such an important cause. Were going to talk about what CF is, the current solutions for people with CF, look at what would happen one way or another if we make a decision against or for support of the CFF and what we can do to help. II. NEED: Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that attacks the lungs and pancreas. a. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that is currently incurable. b. In October of 1952, Rebecca Hernandez was born. She struggled to breath, had problems digesting food, and her parents couldnt figure out what was wrong. After six months of doctors visits and five doctors later, she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Imagine being told that you are the reason your child is ill. Using every dime they had, they took the bus to New Orleans to bring their sick

little girl to specialists. In September of 1954, shortly before her second birthday, Rebecca lost her battle. This precious little girl was my aunt. c. According to the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundations web site (www.cystic fibrosis.ca), in the 1960s, most children diagnosed with CF didnt live long enough to see their fifth birthday. Today, because of research, most people diagnosed with CF live into their forties. Also, according the US site www.genome.gov, CG is the most common, fatal genetic disease still in the US today. d. According to the research, the CF gene was isolated in 1989. The CF gene is a gene in all of our cells. A mutated gene, in most people, does not cause symptoms of CF. Having two mutated genes causes CF. Most people do not even know that they are a carrier of a mutated CF gene, and one in thirty people in the US carry one of the defective genes. Imagine if you will, not knowing you are a carrier of a CF mutation, and your child is born ill. There is NO CURE. We have a long way to go to find a cure. Transition Statement: Now that we have learned what CF is and how horrendous it is, lets talk about what we can do to help. III. SATISFACTION / SOLUTION: a. Although there is no cure for CF, there are solutions to help people live with the disease. According to www.cff.org, the research funded through the CF foundation has increased life expectancy drastically. Treating the symptoms effectively can lead to longer life expectancy and less need of lung transplants that, though effective, shorten life expectancy and can even lead to death. b. By continuing research, we can help children currently being born with the disease live longer happier lives. According to her parents, when my friend Beth

was born in 1985, her parents were told her life expectancy was less than two years. Because of the research done throughout her life, she died shortly before her 19th birthday. c. Because the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation funds the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Inc. at the University of Chapel Hill, all of the research done is compiled and available, so that researchers can compare notes and come up with new ideas to treat CF. By continuing to support the CFF, we can continue the wonderful work done by this organization. d. N/A e. By continuing to value each human life, we are showing these affected people that we care for them and will help them battle this deadly disease. f. You may ask, Why should I support this organization. My response is, what if this were your child? Transition Statement: Now we have seen the problem and how we can, lets see what would happen if we were to make one decision or another. IV. VISUALIZATION: When my best friend Beth was born, her parents were told she would not live to see her second birthday. Imagine if you will, if people like us just didnt care. If we didnt give to the CFF. Many children would not live to see their teenage years. Families would bury babies. My friend Beth would have had a much shorter life. In fact, I may never have met her. But because of the improvements in care for CF, Beth got to live a much fuller life. Because of her, I am a supporter of CF. Because of her, I take better care of myself. Because of her, I tell the people close to me I love them. Because of her, I am who I am today. By supporting the CFF, we are giving

more people like Rebecca and Beth life and hope to live longer, happier, healthier lives to touch more people in the world. Transition Statement: Now that we can see the future, what can we do? V. ACTION: Imagine what would happen if CF touched your life like it has touched mine. I want you all, to visit www.cff.org. At the top of the page, in orange are the words DONATE NOW. I want all of you, to donate, what you can. Even a $5 donation can change the life of a little person. Since weve discussed the problem of Cystic Fibrosis and how you can help, Id like to close by telling you a story. No one knows if its true or not, but the legend lives on today. There was a little boy who had CF. As a little child, he knew he was sick, but couldnt pronounce Cystic Fibrosis. When people asked what he had, he would say, I have sixty-five roses. When he died, to honor him, his parents placed sixty-five roses on his casket. To this day, anyone who dies of Cystic Fibrosis is buried with sixty-five roses on their casket. I hope CF never touches your life, but if it does, remember sixty-five roses. Remember Beth. Remember Rebecca. Remember www.cff.org!

Works Cited "About Cystic Fibrosis." Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. cysticfibrosis.ca. Web. 16 July 2010. http://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/en/aboutCysticFibrosis/index.php. "About Cystic Fibrosis." Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. cff.org. Web. 16 July 2010. http://www.cff.org/AboutCF/. "Learning About Cystic Fibrosis." National Human Genome Research Institute. genome.gov. Web. 16 July 2010. http://www.genome.gov/10001213. Verrett, Deborah. Telephone interview. 8 July 2010.