“Every morning I get up and turn on my game or watch tv and get my breathing treatment,” my five-year-old great-grandson, Justin Sanchez, tells me in an upbeat matter-of-fact voice. “It pumps you, it feels weird, but it doesn’t hurt.”

Justin’s an old hand at breathing treatments; they’ve been part of his routine since he was a baby. Gone are the days when he’d cry and cry because he had to have a treatment, and his mother, Samantha, would cry because she hated to see him cry.

And Justin’s used to his regular three-month checkups at the CF Clinic in Miller Children’s hospital to have his lung capacity checked. “Boring, but fun too,” is his dismissive comment about the hours that he and his mom have to spend waiting for several different doctors to examine him.

Justin takes enzymes before he eats to help his body absorb the fat in food; he has to take them six times a day. “I get to eat extra meals,” he says with a big smile. “And salt, I get to eat pretzels and oranges with salt.

Justin has cystic fibrosis. When he was only three weeks old, the doctors diagnosed him with cystic fibrosis, but cystic fibrosis never defined this kid--he’s our superhero, the Red Ranger, the number #1 ranger of all time, and he knows no limits.

Justin’s quite the charmer—warm, loving, and kind. He has a smile that stretches from ear to ear, and he can coax his older brother, Javier, and sister, JoJo, into playing whatever he wants—and sometimes he even lets them win.

Justin’s a fast runner, and when he’s on his scooter, he’s unbeatable. “I like to go to the skateboard park and the beach,” he said, shaking his head,“ but we can’t even do that now.”

What’s it like for Justin to stay safe at home because of the pandemic? Is the Red Ranger discouraged or depressed?

“It’s boring, but fun too,” he explains earnestly. “I get to play Nintendo, and sometimes we play Go Fish and Dominos and War. JoJo and I play school.”

Our family is hoping and praying that life stays good for Justin, our eternal optimist. One promising drug trial with Trikafta looks like it will be of great benefit to Justin’s strain of cf. We’re praying that the age range in the new trial drops from twelve to six and that our Red Ranger can participate. Still, the battle is far from over, and the fight for a cure is an ongoing one. Fingers crossed it comes soon.