Twice in two days, Marty and Twyla Dubois heard a doctor deliver this message: Your daughter has cystic fibrosis. The average life expectancy is 14 years.

The first day it was Leslie, the second day, Jackie, six months old and her sister’s junior by two years.

That was then.

This is now: Jackie Dubois is sitting in her parents’ Lawrence living room, talking about her four-year career in cross country and track at the University of Oklahoma, reminiscing about that finger roll she took to give Free State High a last-second basketball victory over Lawrence High as a junior, and talking about her interest in meteorology and “responsible storm chasing.”

And she’s talking about how much she’s looking forward to attending an event in Atlanta scheduled for Jan. 24. One college athlete and one pro will receive the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup that night. Dubois is one of six collegiate finalists for the honor. Athletes for a Better World presents the award based on an athlete’s character, teamwork and citizenship.

Free State High product Jackie Dubois sits among some of her 200-plus medals for achievements in track and field. Dubois is battling cystic fibrosis, but that hasn't stopped her from four productive seasons as a runner at Oklahoma. She is set to earn a degree in meteorology this spring.

A three-time Big 12 Conference All-Academic selection in cross country and track, Dubois is on target to graduate this spring with a major in meteorology and minors in math and communications.

Not scared

Dubois deals with her condition daily, but doesn’t let it define her.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that causes a mucus buildup in the lungs and pancreas. It can cause breathing and digestive problems, as well as chronic infections. Thanks to medical advances, including more effective medications, the average life expectancy for people with CF is in the upper 30s, still a daunting number.

If that figure scares Jackie Dubois, she doesn’t show it.

“It’s something I’m conscious of, but I’m completely hopeful there will be a cure and continued improvements in medications,” Dubois said. “Even with what we have right now, I would think I can live a long life. Knowing that they’re continuing to do research, and we have all these things they’re on the brink of, I’m hopeful that will continue to improve.”

She’s seems supremely confident she’ll win the biggest race of her life. She smiled when she talked about the increased life expectancy.

“As long as it keeps going just a little past what I am, that’s OK,” she said.

Jackie Dubois (272) runs for Oklahoma during a cross country race.

The more money raised to fight cystic fibrosis, the more research will be done and advances made. So every time she tells her inspirational story in speaking engagements, Dubois essentially takes a baby step toward lengthening her life.

Busy, busy, busy

Meanwhile, she packs a week’s worth of activity into a typical day. A 2001 graduate of Free State, Dubois has used up her eligibility at Oklahoma but still runs almost daily. In addition to her full course load, she has done volunteer work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Special Olympics, Norman (Okla.) Public Schools, the American Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, and the Norman Battered Women’s Shelter.

She takes pills with meals and spends anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour a day inhaling medication through a nebulizer.

“I do all kinds of stuff while I’m doing that,” Dubois said. “I do homework, clean my room walking around with that thing. I definitely multi-task.”

Free State High seniors Jackie Dubois, left, and Laura Farley read Dr. Seuss's Green

Her perspiration has 10 times more salt than average.

She takes salt tablets after “really intense workouts. I’d have salt all over my arms and my legs. And I drink a lot more water and Gatorade.”

Twyla said, “It doesn’t affect her like you might think in the way it affects an asthmatic, not like that. Some CFs have that asthma, but Leslie and Jackie never did.”

How much better a runner could the Oklahoma student be if she had not been born with CF?

“It’s hard to say,” Jackie Dubois said. “I don’t know how I would be if I didn’t have it. And the progression is so slow that it’s not something like, ‘Wow, I don’t feel good today compared to yesterday.’ So, it’s hard to say.”

When Dubois began taking a new medication late in her junior season at Oklahoma, the lung test results she takes every three months improved greatly, and her times kept pace. She shaved two minutes off of her five-kilometer time, which suggests the cystic fibrosis was responsible for her going a long stretch without improving.

Family strength

Jackie may have inherited her running ability from her late maternal grandfather, Loyce Miller, who saved a recruiting letter he received from legendary Kansas University coach Phog Allen. But she praises her parents for creating the right environment for not letting CF deny her from pursuing her athletic interests.

Free State High's Jackie Dubois, right, Megan Dougherty, center, and Katie Rhodes hoist the 2001 sub-state championship trophy. Dubois has battled cystic fibrosis while enjoying a career at Oklahoma as a college runner. She is one of six candidates for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup to be awarded Jan. 24 in Atlanta.

“From a young age, we were encouraged to be very active and they made it easy to be compliant and to take our medications,” Dubois said of her parents. “They put the right things on the table. We ate the right things. They made taking the medications an everyday part of life that was completely normal. It was something we never looked down on. Leslie was the leader. She would do things first, and I followed her.”

The family moved from Russell to Lawrence before Jackie’s junior year in high school. She said she had fears about her ability to compete at bigger school and credits Free State coach Steve Heffernan with helping her quickly conquer those doubts.

“He definitely inspired me to push myself above and beyond what I thought I was capable of in cross country and track,” Dubois said. “I came from a smaller school, and I was a little overwhelmed coming into a bigger school and a bigger district. He definitely invested in all of his athletes and encouraged us and challenged us. From the point I came to Free State to the time I left, there was a lot more improvement than I would have thought was possible.”

Dubois is quick to give thanks to her parents, her sister, and her high school and college coaches. Every one would give an identical response when asked who deserved the most credit for her having a seat of honor at a dinner in Atlanta late next month: Jackie Dubois.