“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" were the words delivered by Patrick Henry during his impassioned speech at the 1775 Virginia Convention in seeking independence for his home state. Now, nearly 250 years later, Claire Wineland, an impassioned cystic fibrosis patient and inspirational Youtube personality and founder of a (501)c3 charitable foundation, Claire's Place Foundation (that assists families living with CF), whose desire to see terminally ill patients live life to their fullest, puts her own spin on that famous phrase with “Give Me Dignity of Give Me Death”. Claire shares her message of hope and her daily struggle of prioritizing happiness over health.

Claire Wineland has been living with cystic fibrosis her entire life. At the age of 13 she founded Claire’s Place Foundation, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization providing support to children and families affected by cystic fibrosis (CF). Now 20 years old Claire’s unique inspirational model for people living with this disease has led her to be a TEDx Speaker and receive multiple awards including being named one of Seventeen Magazine’s “17 Power Teens” of 2016, Fox Teen Choice Awards 2015, the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, and winner of Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Small Nonprofit of the Year” among others. She has been featured on CNN, Inside Edition, The Dr. Oz Show, Huffington Post, ABC News, Cosmopolitan, People, Ladies’ Home Journal and more. Claire’s Place Foundation is a way for Claire to give back with hope, strength, and joy and make meaning of what she has had to go through. For more information and make a donation, please visit www.clairesplacefoundation.org.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx