
5:30 a.m., Brianna Pelletier gets ready for her daily pounding. As she lies on the couch, her dad beats her chest, then her back, coaxing the mucus out of her lungs. The pounding doesn't take care of everything. Brianna's held out for a long time, but a body with cystic fibrosis...

For a girl who doesn't have much time, every infinitesimal moment counts
Brianna is a math whiz. She's almost certain to be admitted to MIT--that is, if she survives to see her nineteenth birthday. Brianna has cystic fibrosis, and after her friend...