Jim Harney from Bernardi Auto Group took special care of his passenger, Jenna Reed, as they led the CF Cycle for Life on Saturday, October 2, 2012, at the Fatima Shrine in Holliston.  

Saturday with 57 teams and 310 cyclists, the Aptalis CF Cycle for Life is a 12, 30 or 65 mile (Metric Century) bike tour. Nearly $210,000 was raised to benefit cystic fibrosis research and medical programs. Funds raised by cyclists and sponsors fuel science that is moving closer to curing and controlling CF, which is good news to Jenna and her sister Haylee Reed who have CF. Jeanna and Haylee are the nieces of Matt (below) and Amy Varrell of Holliston who began the ride 15 years ago.   Jim was all smiles with this special cargo traveling the roads of Holliston.
  

 

Cystic fibrosis is a relatively rare genetic disease affecting 30,000 people nationwide and 70,000 across the globe. In 1955 when the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation began, children did not typically live to reach elementary school. Today people with CF are living longer, healthier lives thanks to improvements in research and patient care. 

On January 31, the FDA approved the drug Kalydeco which is the first drug to address the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis. The science behind Kalydeco opens exciting new doors to research and development that may eventually lead to a cure for all people living with CF.
 

 

“The research that is taking place right here in Cambridge at Vertex Pharmaceutical holds great promise for the future. With support from friends like Bernardi, I have all of the hope in the world that we’ll be able to fund a cure for cystic fibrosis,” says event coordinator Matt Varrell, Haylee and Jenna’s uncle. 

 

Last year’s ride raised more than $175,000 to support cystic fibrosis research and medical programs. Four short months after the ride, the FDA approved the drug Kalydeco which is visibly changing the lives of the 4% of patients who have a specific mutation of the disease. Sponsors like Bernardi Auto, VHB of Watertown, Chest Physical Therapy, American Airlines, Genentech, Novartis, Abbott, Vertex, Dunkin’ Donuts, Landry’s, John Harvard’s Brewery & Ale House, Tennessee’s BBQ, and WZLX banded together to make sure progressive science and medical programs that improve the quality of life will continue to be funded. Learn more about cystic fibrosis and the road to the cure at www.cff.org.