Every so often I will make a posting to this blog outside of “Odd Angles.” While these entries won’t necessarily be funny, they will be brief and personal.

Do you have children? Imagine this: someone tells you when your child will die. You won’t get specifics, but an average age, say 35. Chances are, you will live to see it happen.  That cruel threat won’t come from a quack doctor, sidewalk fortune teller or Halloween grim reaper. You will hear it from the NIH: “The average life span for your child, if he reaches adulthood, is 35.”

How do you cope with a cloud like that looming over your future? If you’re my dear friend, Heather, you find a cure.  Heather’s daughter, Grace, is an 8 year-old with Cystic Fibrosis. And if she lives to adulthood, her life expectancy is 35. That’s the reality and horror of CF. But there is hope. Heather recently told me, “There are currently two drugs in advanced stages of human trials that stop the symptoms of CF.  Should these drugs continue to show the promise they’ve shown thus far, they may be available as early as 2012.  Essentially, this is a cure.”

Although this could be a momentous year for CF research, it is also a difficult time to try to raise money. But you have a chance to eradicate a life-threatening disease. You can be the generation that says, “We got rid of CF.” You can make history. And you can help children like Grace live beyond 35.  Below are upcoming CFF fund-raising events and donation links. For more information about CF, go to cff.org. Thank you.

Songs for CF, Benefit Concert
Monday, April 19, 7pm
Jammin Java, Vienna
Tickets: $25
Join us for an evening filled with music and hope. Go to JamminJava.com or visit Facebook at “Songs for CF”

Reston Great Strides Walkathon
Sunday, May 16, 11am
Brown’s Chapel Park, Reston
To make a donation and/or join the walk, visit my team at http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/JeanSorensen6010

Raffle Tickets
Prizes include:
*Wine tasting for 10 at Rappahanock Cellars
*Golf foursome at Reston National
*Great Harvest Bread basket
*Wines of Tuscany wine tasting for 20 in your home
*$100 gift card to L’Auberge Provencale French Country Inn, White Post, Va

$5 each; 3 for $10 or 7 for $25. Drawing will be held on May 16. To purchase a ticket or donate a raffle item, contact Heather at 703.736.8291