April's Paying it Forward donation goes to Cystic Fibrosis Canada. This donation is very near and dear to my heart, as I knew someone who suffered from Cystic Fibrosis. Back in my previous life (i.e. pre-photography), I used to work in software development. My very first job out of school was at a large consulting company. When I was still a student in my fourth year, I interviewed with this company, and the first person to interview me (out of 3 total interviews) was Ken Flint. We hit it off right away, and if it weren't for him, I would've never gone to work for that company, where I subsequently met my husband. Over my four years with that company, my interaction with him was very minimal, but I always remembered him as the guy who first interviewed me for my first job. My husband actually had a chance to work with him back in 2009, and it was then that I learned that Ken suffered from Cystic Fibrosis. In late 2010, my husband and I added him on Facebook, and we learned that he was up for a lung transplant. We both followed his posts both leading up to the surgery, and the posts following the surgery. I think that all who knew him held their collected breath, as we waited for another status update from him.

Then, in April 2011, we received the sad news of Ken's passing. Thinking about the day we got the news still brings tears to my eyes. I didn't even know him that well, but being in the know of what he was going through, even if it was through status updates on Facebook opened up his world to me. I think it also hit me extra-hard because earlier in the year, I'd watched the CBC documentary, 65 Red Roses. I highly recommend that you check out the film. It is very moving. After watching that movie, knowing someone who actually lived with the disease just somehow made it that much more real.

So I'd like to dedicate this donation to Ken's memory, and to those still living with Cystic Fibrosis. Incidentally, I just found out that May is Cystic Fibrosis month, so there's no better time than this month to donate to such a worthy cause.