In many respects, Liam Gallihue lives the life of a normal high school sophomore. The Harford County resident, who will celebrate his 16th birthday in October, has a schedule packed with classes, homework, marching band, friends, tennis and a girlfriend.
But Liam is no average teen. On top of the regular demands of high school life, he also navigates the complicated and often scary world of living with cystic fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis (CF), a progressive and genetic condition in which thick mucus in the lungs, pancreas and other organs leads to lung infections and makes it difficult to breathe, affects over 30,000 people in the United States.
Thanks to prenatal screening, Liam was diagnosed before he was born and was able to start treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital immediately after birth. Hopkins’ research and treatment efforts related to CF are some of the best in the world, though the CF treatment landscape is still rife with unmet needs.
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