Hi, I just came back from the most AMAZING week at CF Retreat, in
Northern California. I had to share because it was so cool!!! My
heart is swelling with joy and comraderie, and I feel healthier than
ever after being with this fabulous group all week.

CF Teen and Adult Day Retreat is held every summer for people with CF
who are over age 15, and don't culture MRSA, b.cepacia or pan-
resistant pseudomonas.It is open to family and significant others
too. There were about 30 people, about half with CF- of those with
CF, about half had transplants. We had fun activities like a
scavenger hunt, kayaking, volleyball and art therapy . But also we
have deep, amazing support groups where we share so much not only
about living with cf, but about life in general- relationships,
goals, school/work, dreams, ect. It is truly a place where people
with a common bond share at the deepest level of love and
understanding, where there is a universality of experience and a
maturity of insight and wisdom that is shared among all. I left
feeling loved and understood,and my "gas tank" is full so I can deal
with CF again for the rest of the year. I definitely plan to come
back and encourage anyone needing support and wanting to have fun to
join next year- the first week of August in 2009. There is so much
talk that pwcf shouldn't hang out because of cross infection risks,
but there are so many safety measures at the Retreat I felt so safe.
All attendees have a pre-screening sputum culture, we can't sit next
to each other, we have separate rooms and bathrooms, we have purell
and chlorox wipes and masks/glove available, and we have alot of
activities outdoors.We are not allowed to serve ourselves meals but
can only be served by a person without CF. Whatever risks exists is
worth it to me because of the emotionally and socially healing energy
that I get from this group. I don't laugh or cry much except at
retreat. We love, we remember, we create, we express and we get great
meals and exercise. We also have educational workshops, like a doctor
from stanford coming to talk about sinus disease in CF. We hope
others out there can consider joining this amazing, life altering,
transformative experience in future years. Full scholarships are
available to assist with travel and accomodations. For more
information, see www.cfri.org and check out the CFRI Teen and Day
Retreat. Thanks for reading this.
ANA
Anana1872@...