ToddHDow Studios

Category: cystic fibrosis

  • Breathe Easy Nebulizer Mask Holder

    Breathe Easy Nebulizer Mask Holder
    Breathe Easy Nebulizer Mask Holder

    All CF parents out there, you must check out this product: The Breathe Easy Nebulizer Mask Holder

    What a great device! Julie found this online and ordered one. Order total = $31.50 which includes shipping. The device even came with an extra “Bubbles the Fish Pediatric Aerosol Mask”, which is a bonus so that we can rotate masks more often.

    To use it, all you do is put the strap on your child’s head, adjust the fish mask on the face and then attach the nebulizer to the front of the mask. Easy as 1 2 3.

    The product creator, Melissa, was motivated to make this mask holder for a friend’s child, who has CF. According to Melissa, “This mask holder was created for a friend of mine to help with her son’s breathing treatments. Her little boy has Cystic Fibrosis and must have multiple breathing treatments every day. She struggled with getting the nebulizer mask, with its flimsy elastic strap, to stay on his head securely.”

    And, as an added bonus, Melissa will also donate a portion of any purchase referred by Breathing As A Family to Cystic Fibrosis Canada! Simply mention that you heard about this here (and mention Team Katie) during the checkout process (there is a spot for additional comments on Etsy when you place your order) and Melissa will do the rest.

    Thanks to Melissa (mktdesigns on Etsy) for providing such a great product.

    Please pass this along to any other CF families that you know!

    Todd

  • Corporate Sponsors Needed for Team Katie!

    Team Katie 2011
    Team Katie 2011

    Here’s a PDF copy of this letter Please spread the word!

    Dear business owner,

    As you may know, our daughter Katie Dow is a 4 year old Beamsville resident with Cystic Fibrosis. Team Katie is the group of family, friends and co-workers that are rallying around Katie to help find a cure to for Cystic Fibrosis and we are looking for corporate donations for the 2011 Great Strides Walk.

    Please consider sponsoring Team Katie in the 2011 Great Strides walk, which will be held on May 29 2011 at Safari Niagara in Stevensville.

    The cause: Help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis

    The need: Cash donations. Donations of goods or services will be:

    1. Auctioned or sold and the proceeds donated as cash; and/or
    2. Awarded as incentive prizes to Team Katie and/or CF Niagara walkers;

    Note: 100% of the proceeds from all cash and/or donations will go directly to Cystic Fibrosis Canada via Team Katie as part of our 2011 Great Strides fundraising.

    The recipient: Cystic Fibrosis Canada (which is a registered Canadian charity)

    The business benefits of sponsoring Team Katie:

    1. Support a local charity need;
    2. Encourage a local family;
    3. Great marketing opportunity;

    Marketing opportunities:

    Team Katie communicates directly with over 500 individuals, many of whom are located in the Niagara region. This includes family, friends, co-workers and other supporters of Team Katie. This group of people is passionate about this cause and they are acutely aware of (and supportive of) the help that is provided by other Team Katie sponsors, including you!

    We use multiple avenues to communicate with Team Katie supporters, including, but not limited to, the following:

    Blog (http://breathingasafamily.org):

    • 3000+ page views since September 2010
    • 630 page views in April 2011 alone

    Additional Social Media:

    • Team Katie email distribution list = 250+ supporters, almost all of whom are located within Niagara.
    • Facebook (Todd Dow): 450+ friends
    • LinkedIn (Todd Dow): 250+ followers
    • Twitter (toddhdow): 75+ followers

    How your company will be recognized:

    Walker level – for donations up to $500:

    1. Thank you notes will be sent via Team Katie social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) & blog (breathingasafamily.org)
    2. 1 year placement in sponsor area on breathingasafamily.org
    3. Special mention at end of Great Strides campaign thank you email and blog post to Team Katie distribution list

    Runner level – for donations from $500 to $2,500:

    1. All of the Walker level benefits; plus
    2. “Runner” level sponsorship placement on breathingasafamily.org in the right side navigation area right below “Support Team Katie” from time of sponsorship until February 28 2012
    3. I’ll create a Facebook fan page for your business and advertise it to my network to help raise your company profile

     Marathoner level – for donations over $2,500:

    1. All of the Runner level benefits; plus
    2. “Marathoner” premium sponsorship placement on the header (top of the page beside the site logo) of breathingasafamily.org
    3. “Marathoner” premium sponsorship placement on all emails that are sent on behalf of Team Katie and Breathing As A Family from time of sponsorship until February 28 2012

     If you are interested in donating $7,500 or more, please contact me directly. I’ll find a creative way to make that size of a donation worth your while (all of the above, plus web marketing consulting, website design, etc.) Trust me, it will be money well spent!

    To support Team Katie:

    1. Sponsor Team Katie directly by clicking on the “Click here to donate to Team Katie” link on http://breatuingasafamily.org/ (under “Support Team Katie” at top right of the site);
    2. Email (toddhdow@gmail.com) or call (905.563.7195) Todd or Julie Dow directly to discuss additional donation options;

    Thank you for your support,

    Todd, Julie, Noah, Katie & Riley Dow

  • Volunteers needed for Great Strides (Niagara’s largest annual Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser)

    Great Strides 2009 registration
    Great Strides 2009 registration

    The Hamilton and Niagara chapters of Cystic Fibrosis Canada are still looking for additional volunteers to help out with the Great Strides walk, which will be held at Safari Niagara on Sunday May 29 2011.

    People are still needed to do the following activities:

    • General greeting
    • Registration desk
    • Wrist band handouts
    • Goodie bag handouts

    If you’re interested in helping out, drop me an email at toddhdow [at] gmail [dot] com and I’ll put you in touch with the right people.

    Thanks!

    Todd

  • Street wide Garage Sale – Sat May 21 2011

    Location:
    4418 Dennis Avenue in Beamsville
    Google Map

    As part of our fundraising for Great Strides, we’ll be running a garage sale on Saturday May 21 2011. We sent out invites to our neighbours today. Ideally, we’ll be able to make it a street wide garage sale, with some of our neighbours participating.

    Some things that you can do to help:

    1. Stop by on Saturday May 21 and find a treasure to take home
    2. Spread the word – let others know about this event and get them to stop by on May 21 as well
    3. Hope for sun on Sat May 21!

    And, here’s the note that we sent to the neighbours:
    Dear Neighbour

    We are the Dow family and we live at 4418 Dennis Ave. Our daughter Katie has Cystic Fibrosis.

    Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common, fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis. CF is a multi-organ disease, primarily affecting the lungs and digestive system. A build-up of thick mucus in the lungs causes severe breathing problems. It may be difficult to clear bacteria from the lungs, leading to cycles of infection and inflammation, which damage the delicate lung tissues.

    Thick mucus also blocks the ducts of the pancreas, preventing enzymes from reaching the intestines to digest food. People with CF must consume a large amount of artificial enzymes (average 20 pills a day) with every meal and snack, to help digest and absorb adequate nutrition from food.

    Katie has to endure 2 to 4 hours of treatment a day to try and loosen the mucous in her lungs as well as take enzymes just to be able to digest her food. The median survival age for someone with CF is 47.7. This just isn’t enough for us and Katie needs a cure.

    On Saturday May 21st we are having a garage sale to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis. Our hope it to make this a street wide sale, as we know that many other streets in Beamsville have had major success with this. We will be donating our proceeds to charity, however, there is no pressure for anyone else to do this. In making this a street wide sale, we can advertise it that way and there will be a lot more traffic coming through the area. As well as advertising in the local paper, we are also hoping to have an article written about the event.

    If you would like to participate in this yard sale, please let us know by giving us a call at (905) 563-7195 or emailing us at juliedow@hotmail.com.

    And, if you are interested in learning more about Cystic Fibrosis or our family’s story, check these websites:
    http://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/
    http://breathingasafamily.org/ (our family blog)

    Thank you so much!

    Sincerely,

    Todd, Julie, Noah, Katie and Riley Dow

    p.s. If the weather is poor on Sat May 21, we will reserve Sunday May 22 as the rain date for this event.

  • Team Katie – Great Strides 2011

    Folks,

    As many of you know, our daughter Katie has Cystic Fibrosis. Katie was diagnosed with CF on September 30 2008. She was 17 months old at the time.

    On Sunday May 29 2011, the Cystic Fibrosis Canada will be hosting the annual Great Strides walk for cystic fibrosis. We will be walking and invite you to join us for this annual event.

    Please watch our video, which provides a window into our world:

    CF, which affects the lungs and the digestive system, is the most common, fatal, genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. Forty years ago, most children with CF did not live long enough to attend kindergarten. Today, half of Canadians with CF are expected to live into their 40s and beyond.

    While life span has improved for patients with CF, quality of life is still an issue. Daily treatments, medication, clinic visits and health challenges are always present. When Katie is healthy, we do two treatment sessions a day with her. When she is sick (cold, flu, etc.), we do three or four treatment sessions each day with her.

    Here’s a brief list of her regular medicine intake and treatment regimen:
    – approx 20 pills a day (enzymes – they help Katie digest food);
    – vitamin supplements;
    – 2 to 4 Pediasure nutrition supplement drinks each day;
    – Nebulizer + medicine – basically, a mist mask that Katie wears twice a day for 20 minutes each time;
    – Percussion treatment – 20 minutes of hitting her chest and back – twice a day;
    – Inhaled antibiotics – 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off year round;

    Plus, the following “specialty items” when she is sick with a cold, flu or other sickness:
    – Oral antibiotics;
    – Additional medicine in her nebulizer from time to time as her health dictates;
    – Additional nebulizer and percussion treatment – typically 3 or 4 treatment sessions a day when she’s sick;

    Each year, on the last Sunday in May, friends, family and co-workers of people with cystic fibrosis participate in “Great Strides”, which is Cystic Fibrosis Canada’s largest national fundraising event. Walk with us on Sunday May 29 2011.

    To assist, you can:
    1. Donate money;
    2. Donate and/or collect pledges and Walk with us on Sunday May 29; and/or
    3. Recruit others to join us in this fundraising event;

    To join our team, “Team Katie”, and walk with us on May 29 at Safari Niagara in Stevensville, click here:
    http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?teamID=204804&langPref=en-CA

    To sponsor us directly in our fundraising efforts for Team Katie, click here:
    http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1077314&langPref=en-CA

    We thank you for your support. Our wish is that one day, CF will stand for “Cure Found”.

    Thanks!

    Todd, Julie, Noah, Katie & Riley Dow