Burial at Sea

There is something about a burial at sea that makes a person a little more sober, the "I'm not going to be here forever" kind of sober. I had that moment today. We've done three burials at sea in the last 12 months on board my ship, and I'm pretty involved in the setup, layout, and photography for each one. They get me every time too.

It's hard not to think of death when at a funeral, and when honoring the dead at a Naval burial at sea, one cannot help but wonder a little at the lives these men and women lived. Did they die in war? Of old age? Did they leave family behind? Did they die bravely or as cowards? Did they put up a fight or die in their sleep? So many questions...

Now that I've been reading and writing about Cystic Fibrosis for a while, I'm starting to see some of our heroes passing on. We don't give honor ceremonies for those who die in the fight against Cystic Fibrosis, but we should. Some have done amazing things to extend the lives of those with CF.

My motivation for finding a cure is simple...my daughter has the disease. Each time a person in our community dies, the more urgent a cure becomes. Just like those we buried today, our time will come. So I push for a cure. I want to be able to say that no one is dying due to CF anymore.

We must keep up the fight.