Although I am writing this as autumn falls on the UK, I know you will be receiving this either at the end of 2003 or the beginning of 2004. I do hope that the year 2003 was a good one for you and your loved ones.

It has been a busy year for CFW with the finalisation of the merger, and our webmaster has been very active, expanding her talents from the regularly-updated website to fundraising to keep us afloat.

I do hope you have had time to visit our website as it has been our main means of updating our members over 2003. I hope we continue to be a useful resource to you all. We now have 2 forums online that I hope will assist you, or at least point you in the right direction.

You can contact me there, at the Editor’s forum and (with the help of my advisors) I can answer any queries you may have on any aspect of CF, either directly by email: editor@cfww.org or via the forum. Come and visit our website and see what we have to offer: www.cfww.org

One of the topics looked at in this issue of the CFW Newsletter is CF in old age. As people with CF grow older they are faced with so much diversity within this condition. Ultimately, CF is a huge challenge to each individual who lives with, or is involved with it in some way. I am constantly amazed at the unique way in which each person lives with CF and their attitude to how it affects them.

Parents of young children with CF often ask me leading questions – eager to know how to do the best for their growing child. It is so hard to know what are the right and wrong answers to give. I can only share the information I have access to, and my life experience. Some of this information is not always going to be the best direction for another PWCF.

That is why CFW hopes to empower the CF community with as much information as it can, for them to make informed choices. I do hope we are achieving this.

Finally, I would like to end by saying that as Editor I am always on the look-out for assistants with a talent for writing to put themselves forward. This would help us immensely for when we hit a difficult spot within the Editorial team. We are all volunteers and are regularly hit by unforeseen circumstances. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to be considered: editor@cfww.org. Alternatively, a specific Editorial role which lists a few of the assets I’d be looking for in potential team members can be found on our home page.

Wishing you well, Sam