I’ve never met Tucker, but I worked with his mom, Page, at my first real job. She was always amazingly kind not only to me, but also to my kids. Sometimes my wife would swing by with my two little ones, and we’d say hello to my coworkers and especially Page. They loved her so much that even after I moved on to other things we still came back sometimes to see my old friends, and especially Page.
I always knew that Page’s son, Tucker, had cystic fibrosis. It’s been a big part–and a painful part–of Page’s life. Since I never met him, I always pictured him as a little kid, but he’s actually 24 now. He looks really happy and healthy in a lot of the photos up at his IndieGoGo crowdfunding project, but he just got home from a 42-day hospital stay and he needs expensive medications to be able to keep fighting to stay with his family.
Years ago, children with CF commonly did not live to start kindergarten. These days, the average life expectancy has risen to 37 years, but it’s still “very difficult to manage” (read more on Wikipedia). There is currently no cure for CF, just a battery of drugs and a lifetime struggle to live with the disease.
The campaigns has already reached the initial goal, but that doesn’t mean they have everything they need. Sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo only collect the contributions if the campaign hits the goal, so you have to set it lower than you’d like to try and make sure you hit it. With copays of $1,400 a month and long battles with insurance and Medicaid ahead, Tucker still needs help. There are 66 hours left to donate, and someone has pledged to match the next $1,000 dollar-for-dollar. There are a lot of good causes out there, but this isn’t a cause. It’s my friend’s son. Please, give if you can.