On the Friday edition of Lubbock's First News, Erin Kuhlers, Lubbock chairperson of Great Strides, and Brian Chennault, father of 3 kids with cystic fibrosis, gave details about the disease and fundraiser.

Saturday, May 10, the Great Strides 5K walk will take place at Coronado High School. Check-in for the event begins at 8 a.m. and the walk begins at 9 a.m. The event can help bring people affected by cystic fibrosis together to facilitate community connections and increase awareness. Simpson said, "That's the best thing about CF is you have this disease and you can choose to look at it as a terrible thing or you can choose to say 'I'm going to beat this, I'm going to fight this, and along the way I'm going to make some great friends'."

Money raised through the walk (90 cents for every dollar) will benefit the efforts of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF). Although there is currently no cure for the disease, the CFF provides research to work toward treatment development. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects mainly the lungs and digestive system. Research over the years has extended the life expectancy of those diagnosed with the disease to about 41 years old.

Chennault described the process of dealing with the diagnosis of his children and adapting to a lifestyle that coincides with living with the disease: "When you find out that everything you've made has a time clock on it, there's nothing really you can do about it other than get up, teach them to fight, wake up everyday, respect what it's supposed to do to your body, and give them as much time as you can."

To contribute to the Great Stride fundraising efforts of Simpson and Chennault, visit their fundraising pages online. To register for the walk and for more information, visit the CFF website.

Listen to the full interview:

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