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Life with Cystic Fibrosis for Zoe Grace
After becoming pregnant in 2017, Jamie and Mike Prichard found out that they were both carriers of the recessive gene of Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a progressive genetic disease that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. Because they were both recessive carriers, there was a 25% chance that their baby would be diagnosed with it. Instead of worrying about the diagnosis, they researched everything they could about the rare disease to prepare for the potential diagnosis of their first child.

August 24, 2018, Zoe Grace Prichard was born in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, and four days after she was born, they received the news that Zoe was diagnosed with CF, which was sooner than many diagnoses.

From then on, Zoe struggled to gain weight and maintain nutrients. She had to take different enzymes and supplements, as well as drinks like Pedialyte and Pediasure, to help her grow. Three times a day, they would have to do physical therapy with a percussive tool to loosen the mucus in her chest as a baby.

When Zoe was born, the life expectancy for someone with CF was around 30 years, which is hard to think about when you look at your baby, but with medical advancements, the median life expectancy has risen to around 60.

Because of the rising lifespan, Make-A-Wish would no longer automatically grant the wishes of CF patients starting in January of 2024 due to the life expectancy growing closer and closer to the average life expectancy of someone who does not have any medical complications.

As Zoe grew up, they switched from percussive physical therapy to a shake vest that would help shake the mucus in her lungs loose. She also started a new medication, Trikaftka, to help her body regulate nutrients and function better.

In 2021, The Prichard family eventually moved back to Maryland, where Jamie and Mike were from, to be closer to their extended family and to be closer to the Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, which is an accredited hospital for CF treatment.

Because of the CF, Zoe will always be smaller, and she’ll always have little extra things she’ll have to do, but that won’t stop her from living her life to the fullest.

Zoe is 6 years old, and her life has been far from ordinary. CF doesn’t limit what Zoe can do. She travels, plays sports, and hangs out with her friends and family, including an annual “Girls Weekend” trip with many of her family members every Fall to Cape May, NJ, shown below.