About Progress

"It doesn't get easier, but it gets lighter. It gets lighter because we get stronger . . . Your strength is going to help somebody else when they are weak."   When we are facing especially hard times, we've all heard people say that things will get easier. Mandie Sherman disagrees. She knows from her lifelong struggle with cystic fibrosis--a terminal disease--that it's not that things get easier, it's that we get stronger. And with that strength, we are then obligated to help others where they are weak.   Mandie's strength is evident throughout this interview as she frankly shares about what life has been like with a disease that consumes much of her day with constant treatments and monitoring. She is resilient--yes. Realistic--yes. But coupled with these qualities is an contagious optimism, a choice Mandie has made to face each day with strength AND softness.   Surrounding her is what Mandie calls her "army," people who love, support, and take care of her. Mandie's hope is that we can learn more about cystic