We won’t breathe until it’s done

Every day for two hours, Grahym Woodburn, just shy of two years old, gets a vest strapped to her that shakes her abdomen just so she can breathe and digest food properly. This treatment is in addition to the 35 pills she takes daily. 

Grahym has Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a progressive, genetic disease that causes limited breathing over time. People with CF describe it feeling as if they are breathing through a straw because of the thick buildup of mucus in the lungs and other organs. 

“Having a child diagnosed with an incurable disease is absolutely debilitating,” Hannah Woodburn, Grahym’s mother, said. After doing the math, Woodburn said her daughter spends one month a year being attached to a vest and takes 12,775 pills. 

CF affects more than 30,000 Americans and receives no funding from the U.S. government for research. However, the Woodburn family, along with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, is raising money to hopefully find a cure. “The Grahym Plan” will be hosting a golf tournament and chicken barbecue on Saturday, Aug. 3, to raise funds for CF research. 

The event will take place at Pheasant Hill Golf Course, located at 2771 Waits Rd. in Owego beginning with check in at 7:45 a.m. You can learn more at https://app.eventcaddy.com/events/golfing-for-grahym.

In the past, the Woodburn family has hosted a chicken barbecue to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, but this is their first golf tournament. 

Here, teams of four will pay $90 per person and enjoy a round of golf. They will be given welcome bags, food and drinks, as well as entries in raffles and auctions. In partnership with Miller Auto, they have been able to secure exciting hole-in-one prizes ranging from top of the line golf equipment to a new 2019 Honda Accord or Sonata. A chicken barbecue dinner will also be covered in the registration donation. Non-golfers are invited to the chicken barbecue on Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Owego American Legion, to benefit those living with CF. 

The Woodburn family will not receive money from either event. Instead, all donations are sent to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for its medical advancements through its research. The foundation has developed therapies and medications for those diagnosed and anti-rejection medications for those who receive lung transplants. In the past year, the median life expectancy has increased from 34 to 41 because of this research. Hannah says that this is proof that the money being raised is making a difference. 

“We are less than two years in and have raised over $46,000,” Hannah said of just her family’s fundraising efforts. 

While Grahym continues with her therapies, the Woodburn family remains optimistic. They are continuing “The Grahym Plan” efforts; “We won’t breathe easy until it’s done,” they say.