Wake County 11-year-old battling cystic fibrosis wants cards for her birthday

CHAPEL HILL, NC (WTVD) -- All 11-year-old Courtney Carroll wants for her 12th birthday is birthday cards.

She's from Fuquay-Varina and she's battling cystic fibrosis. She'll be spending her birthday, this weekend, at UNC Children's Hospital.

Cystic fibrosis attacks the digestive system and lungs, and it can terminal. Breathing treatments are nothing new for Courtney - who's in the hospital fighting a lung infection.

"It's hard because you know as soon as you get out, you know a few months or a few weeks later you're going right back in," she said.

"It's like a punch in the gut and it's hard to live with it every day," her mother, Niki Carroll said.

Her birthday is on Saturday and there's only one thing she wants - birthday cards ... from everyone.

Her mom put the call out on Facebook, and dozens have poured in, even one from ABC11's very own Don Schwenneker. Now Courtney is sending one back to him.

"Thank you for the card and sharing the post on Facebook. Thank the ABC11 Eyewitness crew for coming to see me, sincerely Courtney," she said, reading her card.

There are a couple of VIPs Courtney would like to hear from for her birthday, like YouTuber Jake Paul, the Tar Heel basketball team and NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth.

"I want to meet you," Courtney exclaimed for Jake Paul.

You can send Courtney a card at the UNC Children's Hospital just address it to Courtney Carroll at 101 Manning Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27514 room "6C24," but if you'd like to do something more, she'd like you to make a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in her honor.

"It really makes you realize how great of a world we do live in," Niki said, "how total strangers will stop where they're doing and send her a card."