Ehrlich on Washington column, March 6, 2000

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Lutherville, Maryland 21093 Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of March 6, 2000 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. A Shot at Life Last week, several of my Congressional colleagues and I competed against members of the Maryland General Assembly, not over politics, but rather in a charity basketball game. With help from Delegate Bobby Zirkin (D, District 1 1 -Baltimore County), I organized the game to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Although the General Assembly team ended up scoring more points than my Congressional squad, the real winners were the 30,000 Americans battling Cystic Fibrosis (CF). A terminal, genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus on cells lining organs such as the lungs and pancreas. The mucus obstructs the pancreas, preventing enzymes from reaching the intestines to help break down and digest food, and the lungs, making breathing difficult and painful. While specialized treatments are available to cope with CF’s effects, no cures have been found, and CF patients live, on average, to only thirty-two years of age. Since 1955, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has worked for the development of a cure, the means to control Cystic Fibrosis, and the improvement of the quality of life for those with the disease. The CF Foundation supports and accredits more than 1 10 CF care centers nationwide which provide high quality, specialized care for those suffering from the disease. Among other initiatives, the Foundation also provides grants for scientific CF research and tracks promising, potential treatments discovered through clinical trials in an innovative drug development program. Up-to-date information regarding the trials is provided by the dedicated CF Foundation staff who operate a 24-hour hotline. I became actively involved in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Maryland when my wife, Kendel, and I learned a close friend suffers from this terrible disease. Since then, Kendel and I have worked to raise both public awareness and money for the CF Foundation, which depends greatly upon public support to carry out its life-saving programs. Kendel now serves as the President of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Maryland chapter, and we both help raise money by chairing and helping organize events such as last week’s basketball game.