I sent this to a couple of people on Facebook but i want to get some feedback on the idea from you all in regards to it.   I think that when we get together for this reunion we should not only celebrate all of us getting back together but also help one of our owns families.  Mike Lusk has a daughter named Sophia and she has a condition called Cystic Fibrosis.  As of now this condition is not curable however it is manageable to an extent.  However there is never a good prognosis in regards to this condition and the life expectancy for it is very low  (most depending on which form they have do not live to their 30"s).   This little girl, who is 5 years old, goes thru daily treatments to combat this condition and always comes thru it with a smile and a great atitude towards life.  She is cute, vibrant, and in every way positive to the point where if you didnt know she had a condition you would never know.  This condition is actually so rare in society that the Government spends NO money funding the research for a cure to it so all of the research combating it is raised by people like you and me who know someone who has been affected by it.  Mike and his friends and family have raised $45,000.00 in the past 5 years to fight this and every penny of that money goes to the research to eventually finding a cure to this condition.  I think we as the class of 1990 have an opportunity to help one of our own in a very positive and uplifting way and I know that anything we could do would be incredibly appreciated by Mike and his family.  If you want more information regarding Cystic Fibrosis you can visit www.cff.org (the lusks team name is Sophia"s Soldiers).  I really believe anything we can do to help would be fantastic and even if we raise 10 bucks then they are 10 bucks closer to a cure.  If anyone has any ideas of what we can do just let me know.  Thanks, John

John- great idea!  I will help out with the fundraiser portion if the idea is approved! 

Stacey (Kubat) Petz

Thanks!!!

We can certainly discuss it.  It is a great idea to do some sort of fundraiser.  I had been thinking about doing something for the school district since they didn't get the past couple levies passed and are in pretty bad shape, but certainly a more personal fundraiser is a good idea too.

I actually know a little bit about Cystic Fibrosis.  I have a friend/ guy I work with who is one of the lucky long term survivors (I think he is 40 yrs old).  His brother had it too and passed away in his upper teens.  I used to drive to work with my friend and eat lunch with him so experienced/witnessed the breathing treatments and special enzyme pills he had to take when he ate.  I am sure there was a lot more he deals with that I didn't get to see.

I am so sorry to hear about Mike's daughter.  It must be heartbreaking to know your child has a serious illness like that.  It makes me feel more blessed, and reminds me to stop whining about strep, pneumonia, etc that my kids have been dealing with!  Those are short term and curable!

Mary

I too support this 110%...I think there may be other causes out there near and dear to fellow classmates.   What a wonderful way to learn another way we have been spending our time.  If we did do something maybe we could divide the proceeds and include other causes?  Maybe we could add a contact position on the Reunion Committee so if other classmates would like to have their cause included we could organize a table of information and who it impacts at our reunion.  I would be happy to contribute a basket for a silent auction and/or be that contact person from our class.

John, great idea and what a great friend to Mike you (still) are!

Katie

Awesome ideas!  We will get a fundraising committee started and let them run with this for the reunion!  Once we have a fundraising committee chair, we will update the website under "Reunion Committee" with their contact info. Thanks for starting this thread, John!

-Heidi

  Well the way i figure it its all about helping "our own" besides the fact that its Mikey and i dig the guy thoroughly.  Wait till you see this little girl......shes adorable!!  Thanks for doing this!  It really is a good thing youll be doing for all the folks out there with Sophia's condition.  If you want a committee member you can sign me up......Mike will want to get involved also as will Matt Mravetz.   I already have 2 donation sources maybe 3 so whomever ends up being the chairperson it would be a good thing to let me know and i'll pass that stuff on.  Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

Count me in...I know there would be many other topics of interest from everyone but I do like John's idea- which I have to add isn't often...It's a better idea than I had which involved getting John his much needed 6" shoe prosthesis, which would finally pass him through the 5 foot tall barrier, or his much anticipated sex change operation...

Matt Mravetz wrote:

Wow,

Thank you all for these responses.  I don't have a ton of time right now but you all frickin' rock.

I hope maybe we can raise some awareness and even some funding for CF research.

It is really cool to hear from you.  I cannot wait to discuss everything about the reunion and such.

Talk to you soon,

Mike 

It really is much anticipated!!!

I'm in. Good stuff Spooge. What I am not in for is doing something for the school district. I am a member of this school district, my kids go to Sharon Elem. ,so I am very intuned with the goings-on here. They do not deserve to pass a levy nor the support of this community until they get their shit together.  They have been misguided since Dr. Hulme left and are yet to get back on the right track.  Highland School District at the present time pay 17 teachers over 100,000s a year. That is more than any other district in the state and for only 145 days of service. No f***ing way. In saying that, lets make some money for CF.

Hi Johnny,

Good to hear from you. 

To everyone.  I am going to add some pictures of Sophia and information about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  We were just asked if we would be willing to include Sophia in a drug study at Akron Children's Hospital.  They are testing a potential antibiotic that fights infections that can be very harmful to CF patients.  This test could lead to wonderful treatments for people with CF.  It is funded partially by money raised by the CF Foundation. 

I look foward to hearing fom anyone else an look foward to seeing you in August.

Thanks,

Mike

I to am in and will help out anyway I can. Mike sorry to hear about Sophia, hopefuly we can all come thru to help you and Sophia out..