Patricia Steele

Fairydust to Daffodils Patricia Steele

This is a memoir that begins in 1978 and jumps back to the 1960s before coming back to the present again. It is the story of a child born with cystic fibrosis, the beginning and life of a child who was raised to live and be happy, not to hide and prepare for the end. She was a vibrant child whose life made a difference to family members and written as a tribute so that her brother and sister could learn to know their older sister. Cystic fibrosis is a life debilitating disease that often affects children and sometimes is not diagnosed until early childhood. The author's daughter was diagnosed the day she was born.

Chrissy has Cystic Fibrosis. The Mayo Clinic defined the children's disease as a life-threatening disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs and digestive system. It is an inherited condition and affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat and digestive juices. These secreted fluids are normally thin and slippery. But in Cystic Fibrosis, a defective gene causes the secretions to become thick and sticky. Instead of acting as a lubricant, the secretions plug up tubes, ducts and passageways, especially in the lungs and pancreas. Cystic Fibrosis is most common in white people of Northern European ancestry, but also occurs in Hispanics, African-Americans and some Native Americans. It is rare in people of Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Cystic Fibrosis requires daily care, most people with the condition are able to attend school and with treatment, many children have lived into young adulthood.

The memoir brings this young girl from infancy until she gives up the fight. Her mother's life is turbulent until she learns to stand on her own two feet at the age of twenty three years old. Trials and tribulations, lots of baggage and a strong will to live, smile and dream brings the story to fruition.