Maddy Hamp has always wanted to work in the medical field, and every day, she comes another step closer.
“Growing up in Avon Lake, Ohio, I spent a lot of time in hospitals and doctor’s offices,” she said. “I would always ask them a million questions, and I learned so much just by getting a checkup.”
The reason she spent a lot of time going to doctor’s appointments is because she has cystic fibrosis.
She is the daughter of Seymour residents Tammy and Brian Hamp and has one sibling, Caroline Hamp, 28.
She hasn’t let her illness get her down, though. At 22, Maddy is enrolled for the Master of Science in athletic training program at Ball State University in Muncie and works part time at the university’s recreation center.
Her current dream job is to be an athletic trainer for a professional baseball team.
“One thing I love about exercise science is that it made me realize how important exercise is, and that made me fall in love with exercising,” she said. “I tried every sport under the sun before landing on tennis.”
Until recently, Maddy’s symptoms included coughing, feeling congested, wheezing and shortness of breath.
“It would take me at least two hours a day to do some of my treatments,” she said. “Luckily, I had friends who would understand and even hang out with me while I did my treatments.”
Almost two years ago, she started on a drug called Trikafta to help clear some of the excess mucous in her lungs and body.
Maddy still experiences shortness of breath, fatigue, headaches and body aches, but overall, she said the medication has helped her tremendously.
“I don’t cough as often as I used to,” she said. “I’m way less congested, and there’s barely any wheezing.”
Maddy said she grew up surrounded by sports and athletics.
“With my dad being a lacrosse coach, my sister a swimmer and my mom an exercise enthusiast, I just love being around the sports environment. It’s thrilling and interesting,” she said.
Tammy grew up in Jackson County and lived in Seymour. She and Brian moved back to Seymour more than two years ago because their kids were grown and she wanted to be closer to her family. Also, Brian had a job opportunity at JCB.
“I’m an East Coast transplant,” Brian said. “Tammy and I got married here 33 years ago, and now, we’re back.”
Tammy said Caroline is healthy and doesn’t carry the cystic fibrosis gene.
“Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease, and in order for a child to have CF, both parents must have the gene,” she said.
Maddy was diagnosed when she was 4½ months old and the family was living in Ohio.
“She was failing to thrive and only weighed about 8 pounds at 4 months old,” Tammy said. “She was not doing well, but we finally got the right doctor to see her and got the right tests done.”
Tammy said at the time of Maddy’s diagnosis, there was not a lot known about the disease. She and Brian were told if they kept Maddy as healthy as possible, she might live into her 20s.
“There was always the chance that could change in an instant, such as if she caught a cold, it could develop into something more,” she said. “We just tried to keep her isolated those first three years, sanitized everything and kept her away from people during flu season.”
COVID-19 restrictions were pretty easy for the Hamps to follow over the past year because they already knew the routine.
“Lungs aren’t fully developed until the age of 3, so we were trying to keep her as healthy as possible,” Tammy said. “We knew when she reached 10 or 12 years old and was relatively healthy, she could maybe start on some trial medications.”
When she was 12, Maddy was accepted into a clinical trial program. During that time, she gained about 20 pounds, started getting taller and looked healthier.
“Once you’re on that trial drug, once it’s approved, we knew she wouldn’t get denied,” Tammy said. “That was around her freshman year in high school.”
Brian said every six weeks for the first 14 years of Maddy’s life, they took her to see a specialist to see if she had grown or gained weight and to test her pulmonary function.
“Every time we’d go in there and he’d say she gained a half-pound or she grew a quarter of an inch and every gain was a gain,” he said. “Then the very first month she was in the test group, the doctor said there was no doubt that she was not on the placebo because she had gained 6 pounds and grew a full inch.”
He said that’s when they knew they were on the verge of something pretty special.
“She’s on the third generation of the medication now, and it just keeps getting better,” Tammy said. “She started with Orkambi, then Symdeko and now, it’s Trikafta.”
Dr. Robert C. Stern at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland was Maddy’s physician in Ohio from her diagnosis until they moved to Seymour.
“He’s the guy that kept us calm, gave us direction, gave us a ton of hope but not unbridled hope,” Brian said. “He dedicated his whole life to this disease and has a special place in ours and Maddy’s heart.”
Brian said when Tammy was pregnant, they knew there could be some issues.
“We stayed positive and believed there weren’t going to be any issues,” Brian said. “When we found out there were issues, it made us stronger, it made us love more, made us focus on what was really important and we got this unbelievable gift of a daughter.”
Brian said his advice to parents whose child has been diagnosed with a medical condition is to listen to your doctors, never waiver on compliance and always stay positive. Also, he has never stopped praying.
In 2014, Maddy was a keynote speaker at an event in Washington, D.C.
“At the time, it was called Chefs in the City, and it was a fundraising event for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation,” Maddy said. “It was such a fun event, where five-star chefs from the area would prepare a five-course meal for each table.”
She was 15 at the time and spoke about the new study drug she had started taking.
“It is crazy to go back and think about the drug I was on then and how much has changed and improved since then,” Maddy said.
Her parents tried their best to give her as normal of a life as possible.
“I was able to go to public school, go to amusement parks and do a lot of things people with CF would be wary about, and I was lucky to be healthy enough to do these things,” Maddy said. “Of course, when I did, I always had to bring my medications with me, hand sanitizer and plenty of snacks. So whenever I was at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, I had to bring a huge bag with me to carry all my things.”
Maddy also has cystic fibrosis-related diabetes and has always had a very specific schedule for meals and medications.
“So when I wake up in the morning, I make time to go through the day and schedule everything, including treatments and medications,” she said. “Doing my routine comes as a second nature, so I never forget to take medications or treatments.”
In her spare time, Maddy likes to read, work out, bake and hang out with her roommates. During the summer, they like to go on adventures around Muncie.
Maddy said her motivation is her support system, which consists of her friends and family.
“They have been with me on my journey and seen me through it all and still continue to support me and my health, and I strive to do the same for them,” Maddy said.
She said everyone has their own issues, and as much as they are there for her, she wants to be there for them just as much.
“They are my inspiration,” Maddy said. “Every day, I surround myself with my support system, and without them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”