Most people connected to cystic fibrosis have heard the story about the boy who could not pronounce cystic fibrosis and therefore called it sixty-five roses.
What many people don’t know is the actual story behind it…
The story is this. Mary G. Weiss and her husband were living in Canada at the time while their two children Ricky and Arthur were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Mary was pregnant at the time with her son Anthony, who would also be diagnosed with the disease.
One day her son Ricky came downstairs and heard her making calls to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He told his mom that he knew what she was working for. The thing was Ricky didn’t even know that he and his brother Arthur had been diagnosed with CF. “You’re working for sixty-five roses,” he said.
The rest is cystic fibrosis folklore. Mary helped raise millions and the sixty-five roses term spread throughout the world as far away as Australia. Though her three boys were not expected to live even a decade, they all defied the odds. Mary has since passed as have Arthur and Ricky, both dying as adults: Ricky at 52 and Arthur at 36. Anthony still fights the disease and is now in his fifties. He and his story continue to inspire others and 65 Roses has become a symbol of CFand in some ways an
The significance of sixty-five roses is that with regards to CF or any terminal disease, mental strength is a valuable asset in the fight. That’s why all these sixty-five warriors continue to inspire…it’s the power of attitude.
Live your dreams and love your life.
Andy Lipman