Jersey Shore Girl Fights Cystic Fibrosis with Positive Attitude

A friend of mine recently told me I had to talk to a friend of her's. I had to share my inspiring conversation with Emily Adams.

Emily is a Jersey Shore girl through and through. She was born and raised in Beachwood and lives there still. Emily also lives with Cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis, also known as CF is a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys and intestine.Different people may have different degrees of symptoms.

Sixty years ago, the disease killed most people who had it before they reached elementary school. Nowadays people with cystic fibrosis have an average lifespan of about 37 years.

There are two significant statistics that I came away with after talking to Emily. Only 30,000 people in the U.S. have CF. Because CF is classified as "rare," there is no government funding for research. Let that sink in for a second. Zero dollars from the government to help find a cure. I was honestly speechless when Emily told me this.

It's this reality that keeps Emily motivated to do what she can. And she does a lot.

Listen to my interview with Emily.

Emily is a team leader for the annual Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides walk in Point Pleasant Beach on Sunday May 17th. Emily's team is Emily's Euphoria. I'll be walking with her and I hope you can help her reach her goal of raising $5,000 by making a donation.

Emily is also a "Salty Girl," one of the women living with Cystic Fibrosis. Salty Girls are all about looking hot while living and thriving with the daily trials and tribulations of the fatal disease known as CF. Photographer Ian Pettigrew said Salty Girls is an evolution from the "JUST BREATHE: Adults with Cystic Fibrosis" project, Salty Girls started off as a running joke, but has turned into a stunning reality. While he was doing the portrait project, he ended up photographing a disproportionate number of girls to guys. Most of the women involved were roughly between the ages of 20-40, typical for an adult with CF. Then someone actually said one day, "This project is just turning out to be a bunch of hot chicks with CF."

All of the proceeds will be used for CF research.

We are all very lucky to have such an awesome person like Emily Adams living at the Jersey Shore with us. Help her reach her goal for the Great Strides CF Walk in Point Pleasant.