EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Merrimack Valley

Cystic fibrosis just another part of full life for North Andover teen

By Rosemary Ford
Staff writer
Published: April 13, 2008

Kate Rokos doesn't look her best in dull shades.

"I hate the mousy colors on you," said Paula Leed of Andover, a longtime friend of the Rokos family who was assessing a dress on the 18-year-old high school senior.

Kate was trying on every prom dress she could get her hands on at Chantilly Place in Lowell.

It's a typical scene this time of year, except Kate is counting on the Make-A-Wish Foundation to realize her prom dreams.

Kate has cystic fibrosis, a deadly disease that causes her body to produce thick mucus. It makes breathing difficult and simple colds disastrous.

Kate has had eight surgeries to treat the disease caused by a genetic defect. She takes medication and uses a nebulizer several times a day, has physical therapy three times a week, and wears a vibrating vest to loosen up her chest.

Yet she is not a sickly young woman.

Kate hums with energy, plays ice hockey, sewed her own graduation and baccalaureate dresses, and calls her surgery scars "shark bites."

"CF hasn't limited me at all," said Kate, who will be walking to raise money for cystic fibrosis later this month.

The disease hasn't limited her sense of humor, either. Like when she tells the story of getting pulled over by a police officer because he saw what he thought was smoke filling up her Mini Cooper and Kate inhaling on the tube of her nebulizer.

He got the wrong idea, Kate's mom said. Then they both laughed, because it is funny, although she got a ticket anyway because her car registration had expired.

Kate's classmates at Pingree in Hamilton are close. So last year as a junior she was upset when several students didn't show up for the prom at a local country club.

"A lot of kids at my school don't go to prom. It's not that memorable," she said. "I love, love, love dances — I just want everyone to come."

That's why she called Make-A-Wish, not just to ask for help realizing her own dream prom in June, but rather one for her entire senior class.

It's an artsy group of kids, she said. So she and her "fairy godmothers" — Leed and Pam Elliott, also of Andover, booked the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter, an art gallery and studio in Boston.

"It's really funky," Leed said of the location. "It's right on the water. It's beautiful."

Leed and Elliott have been working on the other details — music by a DJ with MTV experience, along with flowers, favors and food.

And after trying on countless dresses, Kate finally decided on a teal strapless gown with a fitted bodice. Now all she needs is a date, but she hasn't decided on that yet.

The people at Make-A-Wish said Kate's is an unusual sort of wish for them. Typically, the children with life-threatening diseases they help are hoping for gifts or trips to places like Disney World.

Julie Abel, director of program services, said she thinks Kate's wish is creative and heartfelt.

"This is unique,"Abel said. "This is the first prom for the Massachusetts chapter."

Yet it's a wish that speaks directly to Kate's nature, "to be thinking of other kids, not only herself," her mother said.

Kate told her classmates about the prom on a camping trip in Maine before the school year started. Excitement has been building ever since.

"I think its so awesome she shared her wish with our class," said friend and classmate Lexy Pingree of Hamilton. "She is getting everyone to come to prom."

Kate only has one request of her classmates.

"I already told all the girls in my grade they can't bring my brother," she said.

Zack is just 16, she explained. And what girl wants their little brother tagging along on the big night?

Walks for Cystic Fibrosis

r Great Strides Walk in Boston, May 18, 11 a.m., Artesani Park at Soldiers Field Road. Kate Rokos of North Andover will be there with her team, "Kate's Krusaders." People can contribute or sign up to walk online by going to cff.org, clicking on the Great Strides icon, and following it to the Find a Walker tool.

r North Andover Cystic Fibrosis Walk at the Hermann Youth Center, 33 Johnson St., at 9 a.m., May 17. For information or to donate contact Kim Cheevers at krcheevers@hotmail.com.

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