Wishes

[Blog post written by Mark Bonnema]

Happy Anniversary, my Love.

August 9, 2008 Ashley and I pledged our love to each other - for better or worse… till death do us part. Only with Ashley as the object of my promise would I ever be so bold to make such a commitment. Now, seven years later, we celebrate our anniversary and I feel the same joy in that pledge that I did seven years ago. I get to spend my days, my joys, my life with my lovely and loving wife, Ashley.

There is little that I would change about our life, but that being said, there are many things that I wish for my wife and for our marriage for the years to come. I wish for Ashley to stay out of the hospital and to see her lung function increase. I wish for Ashley to breathe easy. I wish for our life decisions to not be tempered or guided by the constraints and demands of life with cystic fibrosis. I wish for road trips and fun-filled spontaneous outings with our friends without worry of lung infection, missing a med dose, or getting back to do a treatment. I wish for Ashley to be able to hike in the mountains. And most of all, I wish to be able to keep wishing.

Cystic fibrosis is constantly trying to take wishes away from Ashley and from our relationship. I think that without Ashley’s boundless strength and determination, it likely would have succeeded. It can be a stressful and draining life. The fears of the unknown and tomorrow always loom large, and no measure of health or energy can be taken for granted.  Thus Ashley lives fully, each and every day - something about her for which I am truly grateful and love.

I wish that next year, and the year after that, and seven years after that, Ashley and I are still making wishes for each other and for our life together, that I am able to take joy in our relationship for all of my days and all of my life. It’s a tall order, it’s a big wish, but sometimes that all we have in the face of CF. Keep wishing, hoping, and praying for the cure to CF so that Ashley’s wishes and the wishes of 30,000 other person’s with CF can turn to something other than their health.

I can’t give you a cure this year, Love, but I promise to stay by your side and to keep fighting and working towards one until the day comes! I love you, and Happy Anniversary.

What is your wish?