Kylie's Kid: Meet Kyra

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Many have heard of cystic fibrosis, but they may not know a lot about it. In fact, there's a good chance you already know someone who has CF and just didn't know it.

That's the case for most of Kyra's friends.

It's hard to tell this week's Kylie's Kid is battling any illness, especially since she's also an athlete and scholar.

Kyra is taking over her cross country and basketball team at Scott Highlands Middle School in Apple Valley.

"I like that you're always doing something," Kyra said. "You're always running or playing defense."

It's not surprising she's an athlete, because this 11-year-old is tall and has a lot of energy. She's also a huge reader and learning Chinese. In fact, it's one of her favorite classes of the day.

"At my elementary school, we could choose either Chinese or Spanish and I just wanted to do Chinese," she said.

Talking to Kyra, you'd never know she has Cystic Fibrosis.

"It just means I have a lot of extra mucus in my lungs," she said.

"She sees herself more as a basketball player or a reader or a writer than she does a kid with CF," Amy Schwanz, Kyra's mom, said.

Kyra's responsible for taking nearly 30 pills a day.

"I have to take four pills before I eat," said Kyra. "Then I have vitamins."

"She has a lot more responsibility than most 11-year-olds," Schwanz said.

Cystic Fibrosis doesn't have a cure and it's known as a "life limiting illness." But Kyra doesn't really see it that way.

"I think for some people it limits what they can do, like how much activity they get or something like that," Kyra said. "For me, it's never really limited anything."