Fundraising Letters

Home‎ > ‎The Hannah's Bananas Story‎ > ‎

March 14, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since Hannah was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF). At the age of 10 she has already lived 1/3 of her life. Over the last ten years Hannah has been hospitalized several times for a total of 100 days. She has taken approximately 80,000 pills, 7 gallons of inhaled medications, 81 pounds of Miralax, 6600 squirts of rhinocort, and since 2008 28,000 units of insulin for a total of 4400 shots. She has had 61 x-rays (including CT-scans and ultrasounds), 6 PICC lines, four bronchoscopies, one sinus surgery, and has spent 2900 hours receiving respiratory therapy either by being pounded on by hand or by a vibrating vest. Cost for all this is rapidly approaching 1 million dollars.

When I was calculating all my child had been through over the last ten years, I started to cry. She is such a bright light I can’t imagine what our lives would be like if that light were to go out. As the CF Foundation continues to make significant progress toward the cure, we must keep fighting and raising money to fund research. With drugs in development that can correct the basic defect, raising money has never been more important. How wonderful would it be if Hannah could take one pill a day instead of 20!

Hannah was hospitalized three times in 2010. In February for two weeks for a lung infection; in September for severe sinus problems and while there it was discovered she had another lung infection. After being released she had to be re-admitted a few days later for GI issues. She spent 26 days of September in the hospital and then had sinus surgery on October 6. She would be treated at home two more times for lung infections.

This year I am asking that more family and friends sign up to walk and start your own fundraising. Hannah gets so much pleasure out of seeing her family and friends come out to support her. When she was younger she thought the walk was just for her. Hannah’s Bananas has raised over $130,000 since 2001. But 2010 was our lowest fundraising year.

Please come join us for the walk. Hannah would love to see you. If you can’t join us could you please support my fundraising efforts for the Great Strides walk for cystic fibrosis. Nearly 90 cents of every dollar goes to research. Our family is walking in three walks this year: Mason, OH on May 14th at Pine Hills Lake Park, May 21st at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati and May 22nd at Island Metro Park in Dayton. Any amount will help $5, $10, $50, $100 or more. You can go to our website: www.cure4hannah.com to learn more.

Let’s make 2011 a record year for Hannah’s Bananas.

Make checks payable to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and mail to my address below.

Sincerely,

Renee Donoghue

5655 Santa Fe Trail

Mason, OH 45040

March 12, 2010

Dear Friends,

First, I would like to thank everyone that has donated to our walk team Hannah’s Bananas in the past. I wish I could thank everyone individually. Last year between Cincinnati, Mason, Dayton and the Flying Pig we collected over $18,000 bringing our total collected since we began in 2001 to over $125,000.

Hannah has already been hospitalized this year for an intestinal blockage and a lung infection bringing her total hospitalizations to nine. The above on the left was taken on February 19^th. I chose to finish part of her IV antibiotics at home. This added another hour and a half to her daily treatment routine which was already nearly three hours. This is an ugly disease.

Hannah is such a happy child often skipping her way around the house seemingly oblivious to her deadly illness. But with the help of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a treatment is currently in clinical trials that could give someone with Hannah’s gene mutation the hope for a normal life expectancy. VX-809 is in phase 2a and showing great promise. We are working hard to keep Hannah healthy while waiting for the cure.

With the economic conditions in the US, it is a challenge for the Foundation to collect enough funds to continue their research efforts. They receive no federal funding and large drug companies just aren’t interested in researching CF drugs. With so many promising treatments in the pipeline, it is more important than ever to keep funding the research. How tragic would it be, to have a cure at hand but no money to finish the research and trials? VX-809 could be available in a few short years.

So I am again asking for your support in my fundraising efforts for the Great Strides walk for cystic fibrosis. Nearly 90 cents of every dollar goes to research. Our family is walking in three walks this year: Mason, OH on May 8^th at Pine Hill Lakes Park, May 15^th at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati and May 16^th at Island Metro Park in Dayton. Tommy is also running in the Flying Pig Marathon on May 2^nd on the Team for Life for CF. Any amount will help $5, $10, $50, $100 or more. You can also help us raise money and come join our team at one of the walks. You can go to our website: www.cure4hannah.com to learn more.