Rochester Hills freshman inspires cystic fibrosis fundraising

For the first time in her 15 years of life, Kate Wood’s cystic fibrosis side effects have improved. This is due in large part to a breakthrough drug called Trikafta, which was developed through fundraising by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and generous donors.

Kate, now a freshman at Rochester Adams High School in Rochester Hills, believes this innovative treatment could turn her deadly disease into a manageable condition. Already, her life expectancy has increased substantially, from single digits to a median survival age into her 40s. And thanks to vastly improved lung function, she is able to breathe clearly and has a much better quality of life.

Celebrating its seventh year of support for people struggling with cystic fibrosis (CF), the annual Toast to a Cure event expects to raise more than $60,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) to further fund research into advanced treatments.

The public is invited to enjoy an evening of dinner, dancing, live music, and silent auctions on Feb. 29, 2020, at 6 p.m. at Petruzzellos in Troy. Tickets are $125 per person and can be purchased online at: https://passion.cff.org/toast-to-a-cure/. The ticket price includes dinner, premium bar, dessert and entertainment. A portion of each ticket ($64) is tax-deductible. Donations and sponsorships are also available.

The Toast to a Cure event was established in support of Kate, a high-school student who enjoys traveling, acting in local theater productions and playing with her dog, Marvin. Her parents, Jim and Cathy Wood, have been passionately involved in CF fundraising. Many of their friends and family, based mostly in the Rochester area, launched Kate’s Krew, a group of volunteers who host Toast to a Cure each February/March and participate in the Great Strides 5K Walk in May to rally around Kate and show others fighting CF that they are not alone or forgotten. Already, Kate’s Krew has raised over $300,000 over the past decade for CF.

Like most patients, Kate was diagnosed with CF at birth and has always known a life with many medications and daily breathing treatments to break up the mucus in her lungs and keep her airways clear. Due to absorption issues, she has a hard time keeping weight on her small frame, but she is upfront about her health and her friends accept her daily time-out routines for enzymes or nebulizers. She has frequent visits with her multidisciplinary team of doctors, and she is very careful about germ exposure, given the delicate condition of her lungs and health.

The Trikafta drug, approved by the FDA last fall, is an important scientific discovery that is already impacting a large number of cystic fibrosis sufferers, including Kate. “Good things are happening and we want the discoveries to keep coming. Money buys science and through science, we will find a cure,” said mom, Cathy.

“We hope to someday make CF stand not for cystic fibrosis, but for cure found!” said Jim Wood.

The event features inspirational messages from CF survivors and their family members, and silent auction items including bottles of wine, tickets to sporting events, signed memorabilia, gift certificates to local restaurants, and much more. (Petruzzellos is located at 6950 Rochester Road in Troy.)