Maddie's Story

Oregon Bull Elk

Our COCO team had the pleasure of taking an incredible young woman on an elk hunt this month. Thank you to her father Colt and Maddie for the amazing experience! This is her story... “Maddie was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was just 18 months old. Cystic Fibrosis or CF is a genetic disease which you are born with, in which a mutated protein on the DNA creates an imbalance of the sodium and chloride shift across the cell membrane of mucus. The result is dehydrated, thick mucus throughout the body. The two main systems it affects is the respiratory system and digestive system. People with CF need to eat a diet very high in calories, fat, and sodium to give the body the nutrients it needs. When they eat, they need to take supplemental digestive enzymes so that the food can be broken down appropriately and absorbed in the body.

CF’ers also have to do daily breathing treatments where they take several inhaled medications and hook up into a mechanical vest that vibrates with the goal of breaking up the thick mucus in the lungs so they can cough it up. The negative results of the thick mucus in the lungs means that bacteria can congregate and cause infections that need to be treated in the hospital. When a CF’er is admitted to the hospital, they call it a tune-up. They are admitted for 2-3 weeks and have to do 4 breathing treatments a day while receiving IV antibiotics around the clock.

New treatments are coming out all the time and hope is on the horizon for a cure! When Maddie was diagnosed with CF, they told her that the average life expectancy is around 35 years old. Now the average life expectancy is around 50 and climbing with new revolutionary medications coming to the market. Even with all of these health problems that Maddie suffers from, she is still the most kind, compassionate, empathetic young woman who will do anything for anyone. She loves to hike, camp, hunt, fish and most of all cook!

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone at Children of Circumstances Outdoors (COCO) who made this dream come true for Maddie. Bryan, Tyler and Brooke are some of the most amazing humans on this planet.” -Colt Modawell