What a touching story about such a brave young girl and fellow Tegan and Sara fan. May she enjoy many more Tegan and Sara concerts.
She's not just treading water
Teen with cystic fibrosis turned love of swimming into Calhoun scholarship
In her yellow swimsuit, Katie DeVoe is a splash of sunshine glinting off the Aquadome's blue water. She glides across the pool with the technique of a professional. Master swimmers haven't shown for practice, but their coach, Gail Reinecke, watches the lone lithe figure split the water in a style that would make a mermaid blush. This time, Katie, 19, of Decatur is there only for fun and exercise. She was only 8, and already a two-year member of the Decatur Aquatic Club, when Reinecke became a coach. Reinecke retired recently, but instilled in Katie a love for an activity that is central to her life. It's a miracle that Katie swims. She has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that most commonly affects breathing and digestion. Diagnosed at 9 months old, she became as familiar with hospitals and surgeries as with swim caps and goggles. Despite the difficulties, Katie's drive and ambition — a lust for life and support from family and friends — keep her focused. And although she isn't taking ribbons and medals for the team anymore, the sport played a role in nailing a scholarship to Calhoun Community College. She has pulled an untold number of strokes under duress, including putting together her grant-winning project. Only 29 other high school and college students nationwide received a grant. Winners of the 2005 Creon Family Scholarship, sponsored by Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc., received $2,000 per year for up to two years of study and a one-year supply of medicine. The Huntsville CF Satellite Clinic, where Katie is a patient of pediatric pulmonologist Dr. Vinit Mahesh, gave patients a book of CF Web sites. One site involved scholarships, which Katie's mother, Joni, found the same July day that Katie returned home from sinus surgery at Huntsville Hospital. The deadline was the next day. "I had the same surgery when I was 12, and I probably handled it better then," she said. "The antiseptics made me feel so awful. Mom said, 'I know you feel bad, but it would be great if you did this.' I didn't feel like it, but I'm glad she encouraged me." Katie wrote about her swimming exploits and other activities, such as two years of 4H Club for home-schooled children. She created a poster, a collage of some 25 photos of family, friends — and swimmers. She believes it carried her to victory circle. Katie swam competitively for 12 years until last summer, practicing four or five days a week, year round. "Then I got sick a lot. It was a tough summer. Then I got busy with college," she said. "But it really is a good exercise for me. Swimming is fun and it really improved my health. I think that's why I'm so healthy now. I doubt I would be if not for swimming."
In August, a physician removed her gallbladder only to discover later that the problem was pancreatitis. Once more, Katie's grit surfaced.
Her sister Mandy Benton, 25, who is in the Army in Darmstadt, Germany, with her husband, Greg, bought three tickets online for a Tegan and Sara concert in Nashville for Katie's high school graduation. "I got out of the hospital the same day. The doctor told me I could go if Mother went with me. She drove my friend, Maria Smith of Hartselle, and me up there," she said. "All of us had a blast." Later, she returned to the hospital for the third time of the summer, to repair a rupture from the gallbladder surgery, which doctors said was unrelated to the trip. No cure.There is no cure for CF, but advances in medical treatment and technology continue to improve the outlook for affected children and adults. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation said the median survival rate is about age 30, though some die in childhood and others live to age 40 and beyond. Progress in CF has helped make life easier for Katie since the spring of 1987, when wheezing and weight loss as an infant alerted her parents that something was wrong. She spent two weeks receiving antibiotics intravenously at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. Joni DeVoe and her husband, Arthur, took classes on how to care for a child with CF, what exercises to do and what medicines to give. Through it all, Katie never lost her sense of humor.
"I still have a cough," she said. "I cough pretty much all the time. And Mother used to beat me. I would lie on the floor and she would beat me, pretty much. If my lungs get too full of the mucus, if I can't get it up, I couldn't breathe. She did that twice a day from the time I was small. I got tired of being beaten, and Mother's shoulders wore out." Today, Katie uses The Vest Airway Clearance System. She straps it on, plugs it in "and it vibrates and shakes me up." Each morning when she awakens, she uses a Nebulizer to inhale her medication. Before she goes to bed, she uses it again. Each application takes 30 to 45 minutes. "People don't know how lucky they are to be healthy," her dad said. Katie's sister Cindy, 13, plans to write a letter of support and walk on Katie's behalf during the "Great Strides CF Walk-a-Thon" in Huntsville. "I think it's really sweet of her. It takes up a lot of her time," Katie said. Their brother, Patrick, 9, is eager to assist, when he isn't at swim lessons with Cindy. To keep her company, the family gave Katie a 3-month-old maltipoo named Bogart as a Christmas gift. "All she wanted was a pet," her mother said.
From: http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060302/teen.shtml
