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Charity helps Jupiter’s Grella breathe a lot easier

There are times at the Honda Classic when the talent of the world’s best golfers takes the fans’ breath away.
For Lilly Grella, the PGA Tour event does the opposite – it provides the 16-year-old Jupiter resident the opportunity to breathe properly.
Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at an early age, this is essential for Lilly to have a healthy life. Cystic fibrosis is a disease of the lungs and the pancreas that allows the body to produce too much mucus, leaving them prone to serious lung infections.
Thanks to an annual donation by Honda Classic Cares – the charitable arm of the PGA Tour event held the last weekend in February at PGA National Resort and Spa – Lilly and many other individuals with cystic fibrosis receive life-saving treatments.
“It’s a horrible disease,” said Janet Grella, Lilly’s mother. “I remember when she was first diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, I thought, ‘Why? Why her?’”
Lilly has to get up early every morning before school to do her breathing treatments. She takes a daily regimen of pills. She goes to a care center at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach to receive more breathing treatments.
“This is our life,” Janet Grella said. “We have to do this every single day. It’s more of her struggle, but seeing her doing this is hard as a mother.”
Cystic fibrosis is a rare genetic disorder that affects only 30,000 people in the U.S. There is no known cure.
Once a child with cystic fibrosis loses lung function, it rarely returns.
“It’s a progressive, severe disorder where, if not treated, will kill the patient,” said Dr. Maurice Cruz, a pediatric pulmonologist. “It’s the most fatal disorder that we know in pediatrics.
“The mission of the Honda Classic Cares is to invest in the community. In this case they are doing that for cystic fibrosis patients and the foundation.”
This year, the Honda Classic Cares program donated a record $5.1 million to 157 South Florida philanthropic foundations. The tournament has given almost $30 million since it moved to PGA National in 2007.
Lora M. Hazelwood, executive director of the Palm Beach office of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, said the foundation has been receiving a donation from the Honda Classic since 2009 that enables them to treat about 100 CF patients every year. The total amount donated is more than $130,000.
“That’s an astonishing number,” Hazelwood said.
Lilly Grella doesn’t care who wins the Honda Classic. She knows she’s among the real winners.
“I’m very thankful because without the care center I’m not sure what most kids like me would be doing right now,” Lilly said. “They are almost like family to me.
“If I didn’t have this care I don’t know where I would be. Honestly, I don’t. The Honda Classic is making a difference.”
craigdolch@aol.com

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