The Beginning of "Pipeline"

I've been blogging a lot about Pipeline to a Cure, a big fundraising event and campaign to connect the surfing community and Cystic Fibrosis with a goal to raise money and awareness to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

Now that our innaugural event is over, a few weeks ago (July 19th), I thought I'd blog the whole story now that I have some time...A lot of people have asked me, how did I get involved with this campaign? How did it all get started? So...here's the beginning story...

I began surfing after a long bout in the hospital in 2006. I was in the hospital when, my doctors asked me to try a new treatment that had been released called "Hypertonic Saline", a very intense concentrated dose of salt-water, created to mimic the ocean. This was created because they had found surfers with CF, in Australia, were significantly higher in their lung function due to the salt water hydrating the lungs (see this article for more information).

So, I tried the treatment, and began using it because it helped me to cough out mucus easier, and so I then began surfing a few months after my hospital stay...I've been hooked ever since :).

As surfing (and Hypertonic saline) became more of my routine, the CF Foundation office in Southern California and other individuals involved in the surf community and with CF began dreaming up the idea to get the two worlds connected-- after all, surfers spend 90% of their time in the salt water that is hydrating CF lungs! So, Pipeline to a Cure was born and the date was set!
All they needed, was a person to help connect and share a story with the surfing community to help them understand CF...that's where I came in :).

See this Youtube Video to see the beginning of my involvement (thanks to Jordan, and Casey for their amazing work in this video coming together, and helping me to get out of my box to do it!)... As I did this video, it all snowballed from there, and God began to grow me as I became more involved and began to realize God's call for me to share my heart and my story with the surf community and CF community...This is the first step of faith for me, and I then saw God opening doors and challenging me to use my life with CF for Him...

Emily's Story on Youtube

~Em