Thomas and Juliann Greene are brother and sister who traveled to a New Hampshire lake cottage for their family wish. Both Tommy and Juli have a serious form of cystic fibrosis that requires frequent treatment in their cystic fibrosis care center. Thomas is seven-years-old and has had both a sinus surgery and a tonsillectomy, and Juli, age four, has also undergone a sinus surgery. Before their wish, each had recently been admitted for in hospital IV treatments.
At home, Tommy and Juli live with their mom, dad, and brother John, who does not have CF. Mr. Greene works is full time and Mrs. Greene four days a week, yet their family remains under financial stress. Their time constraints are amplified by two cases of chronic illness in the family. With these challenges in mind, the Greene children were nominated for a breather.
For their breather, Tommy describes how he wanted to go to the beach at a hotel near Concord, New Hampshire, where his adored, older-teenage cousins live. Tommy hoped to be near the beach because both he doesn’t get to go too often, and he looked forward to splashing his brother and playing with his family.
The result of the Greene family vacation lived up to expectations- though they were sad to end their trip, they were very happy and grateful for the experience. Tommy and Juli’s mom wrote, “We really think [Tommy] matured this week, looking and acting more confident and accomplished. Tommy has never let CF get in the way of his having fun, nor has he ever asked why he has to live with the disease. With all that CF throws at him on a daily basis, it felt great to watch him run, swim, climb, and paddle with such obvious joy. Each day presented a new adventure which Tommy couldn’t wait to tackle.”
