Spirit’s willing, but lungs, weak

OLIVIA Brown, like most twenty-somethings, likes to stay active and enjoy the outdoors, but her body doesn’t always keep up with her spirit.
Olivia, from Clyde, has lived with cystic fibrosis (CF) for most of her life.
“I am 24 years old, and was diagnosed with CF at six weeks old,” Olivia said.
“CF limits my life a bit, being only capable of working short hours, getting exhausted quickly and feeling unwell regularly, and it being hard to breathe really limits how much I can do every day.”
CF is one of the most common life-shortening genetic conditions affecting the lungs and the digestive systems of Australians.
Those living with CF undergo a gruelling daily treatment regime to stay healthy, and Olivia, along with hundreds of others is helping to raise awareness and funds in ‘Great Strides’ during 65 Roses month.
The awareness month dates back to 1965 when a young boy pronounced cystic fibrosis as “65 Roses”.
Olivia will run or walk 4km around The Tan on Sunday 30 October despite her lung function being below 50 per cent for the past couple of years.
“I want to be able to create as much awareness and funds for CF as possible, so we can have a cure in my lifetime,” Olivia said.
“My daily routine includes up to 40 tablets a day including digestive enzymes, vitamins and antibiotics,” Olivia said.
“Then I do number of nebulisers which can take up to three hours daily depending on how I feel.
“Physical activity includes as much exercise as I can handle each day, as well as, breathing exercises and stretches to open my lungs up and of course resting an appropriate amount to make sure I can keep going.”
But a strong spirited Olivia, still looks at the positives, saying: “I am happily married and live in the home we built, with a puppy that keeps me active.”
“And I work part time and love getting outdoors in nature as much as possible.”
With no current cure for CF, Cystic Fibrosis Victoria hopes to raise as much money as possible to add to $7200,50 already raised.
Olivia’s Great Strides team is called ‘LivLife’, and is already among the top 10 fund-raisers in the campaign.
To donate to the 65 Roses awareness campaign visit: www.65roses.org.au