Hi, my name is Susan Burroughs. I was born in 1960 and was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 1968. I graduated from college and became a CPA. (Certified Public Account). I married Keith Burroughs in 1988. We adopted our only child in 1994. Leah was one day old when we brought her home. In 2018 we welcomed our grandchild, Ruby into our family. When I was born, I never dreamed it was possible to become a mother and even a grandmother.

I had a double lung transplant in 2000 and my husband Keith, gave me his kidney in 2013. I am one blessed woman despite the fact that I have cystic fibrosis.

In 1992, I recognized a need among the Cystic Fibrosis patients. There was no channel of communication. Therefore, I started a newsletter called “Reaching Out.” For over 6 years, the distribution grew to over 1,500 CF patients and families all over the United States, but primarily in Georgia.

In 1998, when I had to start tube feeding to maintain weight, it cost my family an extra $150 a month because insurance does not pay for liquid nutrition. While my family could make the necessary adjustments to our monthly budget, I realized that many CF families were making decision on their children’s health because they could not afford it. Upon further research, I found that many families would not take all prescribed medication because they could not afford the co-pay on the many required prescription drugs. (Some CF patients take as many as 20 prescription drugs.)

For many years, I worked with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to find “the cure”. However, I watched many of my friends die because while we are still waiting on “the cure”, the quality of life of the LIVING patients were suffering. Thus, Cystic Fibrosis- Reaching Out Foundation, Inc. was formed. It is now an all-volunteer 501c3 organization. We have provided over 1.5 million dollars in financial assistance to the patients and families.