May is National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month

According to the CDC, Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder that causes problems with breathing and digestion. CF affects about 35,000 people in the United States. CF affects many different organs in the body, making people with the disease more likely to develop other health conditions.

Some people with CF show signs of the disorder soon after birth, although in milder cases, such as with La Joya Dulce bride, Jessie Black, signs might not be seen until adulthood. In the case of Jessie, frequent sinus infections (due to excess mucus) were the only thing that sparked her testing as well as spending time in and out of hospitals growing up due to the severity of the sinus infections. Jessie was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis her senior year of high school. Once Jessie was diagnosed, her prognosis was not good. Doctors originally stated that Jessie would not live to see 30. Yet, she turned 30 last November.

Although cystic fibrosis is progressive and requires daily care, people with CF are usually able to attend school and work. They often have a better quality of life than people with CF had in previous decades. In the case of Jessie, exercise is what literally saved her life.

Growing up, most of Jessie’s childhood consisted of gymnastics practice, school, and attending baseball games. She always seemed to get sinus infections, pneumonia, and other infections. She also had a ton of allergies so would have side effects to a lot of the medications they would try to put her on. She missed school for some of the hospitalizations relating to those issues. She always felt that she had a normal childhood because it’s all she knew and was used to, but that may not have necessarily been the case. She always just wanted to be treated like everyone else and her friends, family, and coaches did a good job of that.

A competitive gymnast on an athletic scholarship to the University of Maryland, Jessie was able to compete for three years. She missed her freshman season due to a fractured spine but was awarded the Positive Mental Attitude Award following that campaign.

One of her teammates who competed with her in 2014 said, “She’s such an inspiration to everyone she’s around. When she walks into the room, she just makes you smile without doing anything.”

Again, Jessie insisted that she didn’t want special treatment during her time competing for the University of Maryland. During her three years of competing, she notched a career-high 9.875 on bars twice as a senior against North Carolina and West Virginia.

Each fall, the University of Maryland team would hold a six-week preseason strength and conditioning program. Jessie never asked for an extended break, so her coach treated her like the rest of the team. When the coach received a call from one of her doctors at Johns Hopkins, he was worried that he had pushed her too hard. Instead, the doctor encouraged the coach to continue with the vigorous workouts because her lung health had improved.

Four years after graduating from the University of Maryland, Jessie met her now husband at Culture Brewery in Solana Beach, California. Both of them were very active outdoorsy types and loved to hike. During the pandemic, they decided to visit her parents in Colorado and explore different parts where they could get outdoors and hike with their dog or snowboard. It was during this time that they soon discovered the town of Steamboat Springs and La Joya Dulce where they fell in love with the ranch and knew that is where they wanted to have their wedding. The location and the fact that it would accommodate all of their guests were two of the biggest factors in selecting the location.

Just like in her competitive years as a gymnast, Jessie’s CF didn’t hinder the planning of her wedding. “With a great wedding planner such as Mandy, I was able to communicate, take necessary breaks and not stress out.” And her wedding day was magical. Four of her teammates from the University of Maryland were bridesmaids and 14 of her teammates attended the wedding. Her most memorable parts of the day were getting ready with the girls, walking down the aisle, the sleigh ride through the snow and the phenomenal dance party after.

Her advice for any bride, battling CF or not, is to just stay positive. Everything will work itself out.

Jessie has been a very positive role model to teammates, co-workers, and anyone she meets!