Cystic Fibrosis is a daily battle for twelve-year-old Stanley Zolek. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic, incurable condition in which the body produces abnormally thick mucus that affects the lungs and digestive system. Stanley is one of the 30,000 people in the United States that suffers from this condition. According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the average life expectancy for a person with CF is only about 37 years.

Stanley was diagnosed with CF when he was only one year old. “Taking care of my disease takes a lot of time from my day, which is a drag, but I don’t have a choice if I want to stay healthy,” Stanley shares. To combat the mucus, Stanley needs to do his “workout” twice a day and take his “sauce” after everything he eats. His “workout” is a vest he wears hooked up to a machine that shakes up the mucus in his lungs. His “sauce” is enzymes that help him break down his food and absorb the nutrients. “If I didn’t take my treatments and do my workouts, I have a hard time breathing and my stomach hurts really bad,” Stanley shared.

Luckily, Stanley has a very strong support system. He has his two loving parents who spread awareness of CF every chance they get. He also has a nine-year-old sister and a five-year-old brother who play with and support him every day.

“Not a lot of people know about CF or how they can help, and we really just want to spread the word,” says Dawn Zolek, mother of Stanley.

Each year they do many different fundraisers to help the research on CF and to raise awareness of this condition. In the spring, Stanley’s aunt Danielle, owner of Renaissance Pilates, hosts a Fitness in the Park event in Hoboken, New Jersey as a fundraiser for CF. Stanley also has “Stanley’s City Slickers” which is his team for the NYC GREAT STRIDES Walk for Cystic Fibrosis and his parents host their annual “Breathe White” fundraiser in the winter.

Stanley has been on CBS news, the billboard for Toy’s R US in Times Square, and posters throughout the city. This past year Stanley was hospitalized for a procedure and his school, Saint Leo the Great in Lincroft had a school wide dress down day to support and raise money for him.

“The way we see it is more awareness leads to raising more money which leads to more research which leads to more treatments and hopefully one day a cure. By the time Stanley is in his thirties (the average life expectancy of a person with CF) there will be enough research done for him to live as long as his brother and sister,” Zolek shares.

Even with Stanley’s CF, he lives a fairly normal life for a twelve-year-old boy. He goes to school, hangs out with friends, plays basketball, goes to the beach, swims in the pool, and many other things a healthy sixth grader would do. “From the outside, you wouldn’t know Stanley is sick. He is such a trooper and he never complains,” Zolek says.
While cystic fibrosis is a degenerating disease Stanley is not letting it slow him down. He and his family continue to raise awareness and money for CF. Visit his website here for money information on how you can support Stanley.