Pam Thompson, executive director for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of North Dakota, talked about cystic fibrosis (CF) at the recent Rotary meeting. Cystic fibrosis is a disease that attacks the lungs, and a baby has problems with lots of mucus in his or her lungs, has salty skin and shortness of breath. It is important to test newborns as soon as any of those symptoms are noticed, Thompson said. In most cases with a child with CF, both parents are carriers, but not always. Nationwide there are approximately 30,000 people who have CF and worldwide over 70,000 people, she said. With continued research the life expectancies is over 43 years and even longer, Thompson said.
One of the greatest challenges for families is the cost of medication and equipment. A family could pay as much as $30,000 per month, but a lot of families don’t have health insurance which covers the cost. This is where the CF foundation comes in and helps with paying the co-insurance or even the full amount, Thompson said. The foundation helps with mileage and hotel expenses when people with CF need to see their specialist at the clinic. The only clinics in North Dakota are in Bismarck and Fargo, Thompson said. The foundation has a few fundraiser each year. There are currently 75 families in North Dakota with someone in their family or themselves with CF. For more information, go to the cystic fibrosis website.
Erin Paulson welcomed everyone to the meeting, Gary Riffe gave the table blessing, Gail Martin and Mark Reeves led the group in singing, and Nick Schmidt collected “Happy Dollars” for Rotary projects like Rotary Soccer Field. The guest was Brian Paulson. Paulson reminded members that the Camp Rokiwan Cleanup is at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 23. Kiwanis is cooking the supper. Mark Sherfy said the State East-West All Star game is June 6 at the Rotary Soccer field.
Cali Johnston has today’s program, Larry Motacek the invocation, Reuben Liechty will lead the singing, and Darrell Losing is the sergeant-at-arms. Rotary meets every Tuesday at noon at the Quality Inn & Suites; everyone is welcome.
