A speaker shared their powerful personal story about living with cystic fibrosis. Five years ago, they were on the verge of needing a double lung transplant with only 18% lung function. But in January 2020, a life-changing gene-modulating drug—developed through a partnership between Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the NIH—dramatically improved their health and extended their life expectancy from 30 to over 80 years. The speaker emphasized that such breakthroughs are only possible with NIH funding, since rare disease treatments like theirs are not profitable for insurance companies. They warned that proposed cuts to NIH funding could severely hinder future medical advancements, cancel life-saving trials, and silently cost lives. The speech closed with a call to protect and prioritize scientific funding, reminding the audience that the damage from these cuts could be irreversible.