What is the significance of the rose?
Although when we picked Rose for Gia’s middle name it did not have any meaning to us about CF, since then we have found out how significant it really is. The story goes like this: Mary G. Weiss became a volunteer for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 1955 after learning that her three little boys had Cystic Fibrosis. Her duty was to call every civic club, social and service organization seeking financial support for CF research. Mary’s four year old son, Richard, listened closely to his mother as she made each call. After several calls, Richard came into the room and told his mom, “I know what you are working for.” Mary was dumbstruck because Richard did not know what she was doing, nor did he know he had Cystic Fibrosis. With some trepidation, Mary posed the question back to Richard, “What am I working for, Richard?” “You are working for ’65 Roses’,” he answered so sweetly. Mary was speechless. She went over to him and tenderly pressed his tiny body to hers. He could not see the tears
