There are few things as heart-wrenching as a sick child, but children are resilient and often find strength in the most difficult situations, even the possibility that their life could end sooner than expected.

A young Kingsville girl faces that reality.

Born with Cystic Fibrosis, every day is a challenge for 10-year-old Annika Hasson. The only thing making it easier is having her mom by her side, but not just for emotional support. Her mother Kimberly Hasson is also living with the same fatal genetic disease.

Both mother and daughter are fighting the disease like champs, but the harsh reality of cystic fibrosis consumes their daily life.

Kimberly was diagnosed at 33, after her daughter was born with the disease.

“There's two of us in the house which means double the treatment,” says Kimberly. “Double the clinics, double the hospitalizations, double the medications, double the expenses, double the stress.”

It's a difficult life. On average, Annika consumes 54 pills a day to help her digest foods and keep her lungs clear.

Twice a day, for a half an hour, the 10-year old straps on a custom made vest for physiotherapy treatment.

“Sometimes she doesn't like routine, but she knows she has to do therapies,” says Kimberly. “It’s not negotiable. It has to be done.”

This past year has been especially difficult. Since November, Annika has spent seven weeks in hospital because of severe chest infections and has missed three months of school.

In January, Kimberly had a pancreatic attack and for the first time, both mom and daughter were admitted to hospital at the same time.

“I can handle me being sick, I just can’t handle her being sick and this last year is the first time that she was hospitalized that I was not able to be there with her because I was on IV and in bed and it killed me.”

But always positive, they find a way to see a silver lining. Kimberly says they do a lot of fun things in the hospital, like making crafts and playing board games.

Almost 4,000 Canadians live with CF, including about 50 in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent. Cystic Fibrosis Canada supports the very specialized care that patients like the Hasson's need to help them thrive.

 

“It’s truly remarkable in Canada we are able to provide some of best care,” says Chantelle Foreman-Meadows, Essex-Kent chapterof Cystic Fibrosis Canada. “The result is Canadians living with CF, the median age of survival is 50.9 - that's highest in world for people with CF. That's proof our funds are working to provide the ultimate care for those with CF.”

The not-for-profit organization invests in research that has already led to outstanding progress in the fight against CF, including the discovery of the gene responsible for the disease, which allows researchers to start targeting the cause of the disease rather than its symptoms.

“That gives us hope that we need to keep going,” says Foreman-Meadows. “We don't want to be saying goodbye to young people. We want people to live to the fullest.”

The annual Great Strides Walk in support of Cystic Fibrosis is taking place in late May at the Vollmer Recreation Complex.

Annika and Kimberly's team - Annika's Dancers - will be taking part again this year. The team has participated every year since Annika was born, but for the first time last year, missed it because they were both too sick.