Cystic fibrosis walk to support continued research

By JEFF MEYERS
Staff Writer

May 02, 2008 04:00 am

— PLATTSBURGH -- Katie Lawliss has a smile that beams with confidence.
Perhaps it's her determination or the energy she puts into her daily routines that makes her smile so alive and so full of hope.
Maybe it's just who she is.
Throughout her 14 years of life, Katie has battled cystic fibrosis, a chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive systems.
But she doesn't let the disease interfere with having a normal teenager's life.
"If you waste your life worrying about bad things, then you won't have any time left to have fun," said the eighth-grader from Peru. "When you have fun, you totally forget about it."
Katie, who plays on the Peru Junior High softball team, has to go through a twice-a-day treatment routine that includes wearing a vibrating vest for a half-hour each morning and again each evening to loosen the mucous that has built up in her lungs.
"It's quite a responsibility for her, but she handles it very well," said Katie's mom, Kathy Lawliss. "She's up doing this at 6 in the morning each day."
"It's really boring and monotonous," Katie said of the daily requirements.
She does occasionally take a morning or evening off but can never miss both treatments in a day.
"There are things you can control and things you can't control," said her father, Tim Lawliss. "We need to make sure we do the things we can control."
Katie's parents first learned that she had cystic fibrosis when she was 3 months old.
When their baby wasn't growing the way she should and was crying almost constantly, the couple knew something was wrong. When a relative of Tim's mentioned that cystic fibrosis ran in his family, that's where they decided to look.
Since then, Kathy and Tim have become experts on cystic fibrosis, and Katie has taken on the responsibility to be as familiar with the disease as possible.
She has shared that knowledge with her friends.
"They used to ask a lot of questions about it, but now they know what it's all about."
On Saturday, Katie will renew her participation in the ninth-annual Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis walk at Melissa L. Penfield Park in Plattsburgh. The fundraiser has been a major contributor to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Northeastern New York, including $55,000 raised a year ago.
"The money goes toward research," said Kathy, the chairperson for this year's walk, noting that research has helped develop new drugs and therapies that are saving people's lives.
Katie is confident that one day that research will lead to a cure, but until then, she will continue to play sports, hang out with friends and work on doing well in school.
"It's going to be weird when I no longer have to take medicine," she said of that day when a cure is found, "but it will be nice."

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