Fibrosis

THE 17TH ANNUAL "Sing for Breath" concert to benefit children with cystic fibrosis will start at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Locust Grove Church of the Brethren in Mount Airy.After learning that a friend's child had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, Nelva Mount organized the concert series to increase people's awareness of the No. 1 genetic killer of children and young adults in the United States.The Mount Airy concert will feature adult performances. A second concert featuring children will be held at 1: 30 p.m. Sunday at Frederick Church of the Brethren.

Vince Gill was cookin' at the 12th annual benefit concert for Cystic Fibrosis. But he wasn't the only one doing so at the Baltimore Arena. Some 30 local chefs cooked up their kind of crowd-pleasers at a preconcert VIP reception.More than 1,000 guests mingled and munched in a tent pitched outside the building, whetting their appetites for the tuneful treats that awaited them inside.Among those tasting and talking: Josie Schaeffer, executive director of Cystic Fibrosis Maryland Chapter; Kenn Roberts, concert committee chair; Larry Kushner, executive director of the concert's underwriter, the M.U.S.

If Mom ever told you not to play while in your dress-up clothes, it was time to break the rule at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's "Play Ball." Some 625 guests, in their best bib and tucker, got to play in the exhibits at the Port Discovery Children's Museum.Then it was time to take the trolley to the Baltimore Convention Center for dinner and more fun and games, including miniature golf and casino activities.This crowd of players included event chairs Bruce and Su-zanne Hoffman; Josie Schaeffer, executive director of CFF Maryland Chapter; Kendel Ehrlich, chapter board president; Marie Henderson, president of Marie Henderson Enterprises; and Karen Patten, co-owner of Kali's Court restaurant.

Mission: Sharing the love and power of music as a conduit to raise funds and public awareness for worthwhile charitable causes. Founded by Kenn Roberts and his Hard Travelers Band 11 years ago, the Baltimore-based M.U.S.E. (Music Unites the Soul of Everyone) Foundation organizes charity concerts that are headlined by international stars. Since its inception, the foundation's annual Hard Travelers Benefit Concert for Cystic Fibrosis at the Baltimore Arena has raised more than $3 million for CF research.

Don Mellinger lives on a 38-foot cabin cruiser named "For Heaven's Wake" at the Anchorage Marina in Baltimore. It has plenty of room, he says. "A couple could live on the boat very easily." Enough closet space for two? That's another issue entirely.Mellinger, 49, and soon to be married, can't even keep four seasons' worth of clothing below deck. If it's summer, than everything fall, winter and spring goes to his office or father's house. After Mellinger marries this fall, he will move out of his boat, so as to avoid closet disagreements with his bride.

Lindsay Scott's family photo album is filled with pictures of a 12-year-old girl who loved animals, American Girl dolls, Beanie Babies, spicy crabs, Victorian lace, God, her friends and her family.A closer look at the photos might reveal that Lindsay had cystic fibrosis, a congenital disease that sparks constant infections and destroys the lungs. But those pictures are few and hard to discern.Though the disease haunted Lindsay for 12 years, and took her life in March, she, her brother, Wes, and her parents, Sandy and Steve Scott, worked at living like other families.

The senior medical director for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation said yesterday that he is concerned about Martek Biosciences Corp.'s announcement that a nutritional supplement made by the Columbia-based company had a beneficial effect on mice genetically altered to mimic symptoms of the disease.But the foundation is intrigued by the findings and plans to support a follow-up study to gather information about what role the nutritional supplement might have in treating the inherited, deadly disease that affects more than 30,000 Americans.

Maryland's 1997 calendar child for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation won an award as one of the organization's biggest fund-raisers.Morgan A. Fogle, 6, of New Windsor led her Morgan's Missionaries team in a walkathon Sunday, one of several "Great Strides" events in the Baltimore area.Morgan's team, which included the mayor of her hometown and her first-grade teacher, raised $9,331, the largest amount from any group participating in the annual event at Glen Burnie High School."It was a neat, fun day, and Morgan was just tickled pink," LaRonda Fogle said of her daughter.

Lauren Lendle left this world the same way she came into it -- too early.The South Baltimore seventh-grader was born a month premature. Afflicted with cystic fibrosis, she died years and years too soon. When she died April 21, she was 13.In the last weeks of her life, Lauren inspired a far-flung fund-raising effort to save her. Organizers in Anne Arundel County enlisted dozens of volunteers from as far away as Alaska, North Carolina and Texas in a quest for funds to pay for a lung transplant.

It's always sentimental for a player to go back to the stadium where he had his greatest days and hear the roar of the crowd one more time.Joe Montana, who finished his career in Kansas City, will experience that on Dec. 15, when the San Francisco 49ers will retire his number at halftime of the Monday night game against Denver.Boomer Esiason, who once dueled Montana in a Super Bowl, topped that experience last week.Esiason, who spent time with the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals in recent years, once again heard the fans in Cincinnati cheering for him last Sunday.

On Sunday, July 26, 2009 Douglas M. Woods Friends may call on Thursday, July 30, 2009 from 3:00 to 5:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. at the Stallings Funeral Home, P.A., 3111 Mountain Road, Pasadena where funeral services will be held on Friday, July 31, 2009 at 11:00 A.M. Interment Meadowridge Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, P.O. Box 96305, Washington, DC 20090-6305. For condolances please visit www.stallingsfh.com

On April 29, 2009, BOWEN "Bo" PATTISON WEISHEIT, SR., of Bel Air, MD. Beloved husband of Edith Burroughs Weisheit. Devoted father of Bowen P. Weisheit Jr., Jonathan W. Weisheit, and Parker Tufts Packard. Loving brother of the late Joseph E. Weisheit Jr., Also survived by seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 11 A.M. in the chapel at St. Paul School for Boys in Brooklandville, MD. Those who desire may contribute to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Maryland Chapter, 10155 York Road, Suite 101, Cockeysville, MD. Memory tributes may be sent to the family at mccomasfuneralhome.

Tricia Brooke Bowley, an activist who raised awareness about cystic fibrosis, died Friday of the disease and the long-term effects of a double lung transplant at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Towson resident was 37. Mrs. Bowley, who was born in Colorado, was diagnosed at birth with the disease, which causes chronic, life-threatening lung infections and also affects the digestive system. She spent her childhood in Hawaii and San Antonio before moving to New Jersey to live with her father, Robert F. Bowley Jr., who was a lieutenant in the Navy.

Gwyneth J. Spangler, who despite being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 18 months old went onto become a successful athlete and outdoorswoman while working as a hydrogeologist, died of pulmonary failure Thursday at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. The Catonsville resident was 38. Gwyneth Jones was born in Baltimore and raised on West Seminary Avenue in Lutherville. At Towson High School, she was a member of the track team, which made the state finals one year, and also participated in the old Lady Equitable race in downtown Baltimore.

Calendar Wednesday Isabel Stenzel Byrnes and Anabel Stenzel -- Twin sisters, co-authors of The Power of Two: A Twin Triumph over Cystic Fibrosis, host a book signing and tell about their struggles with cystic fibrosis and their efforts to pursue normal lives while grappling with the knowledge they will die young. / 7 p.m. / Barnes & Noble at the Power Plant, 601 E. Pratt St. / 410-385-1709. Saturday Joann Harris -- A local author who became fascinated with horror stories after reading a Stephen King book appears for a discussion and book signing.

On January 22, 2008, David Ellwood Cage A celebration of life will be held at 1:00 pm on February 10, 2008, at The Loudmouth Club, 7939 Pulaski Highway, Rosedale, Md., 21237. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 10155 York Rd., Cockeysville, MD 21030 or St. Jude Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN, 38101-9929. Memory tributes may be sent to the family at mccomasfuneralhome.com

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, January 13, 12:30 P.M. at DANZANSKY GOLDBERG MEMORIAL CHAPELS, INC., 1170 Rockville Pike, Rockville,MD 301-340-1400. Interment Judean Memorial Gardens, Olney, MD. The family will be receiving friends Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8 P.M. at her late residence. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy in Cheryl's memory may be made to the Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis foundation, 1331 N. Halsted street, #201, Chicago, IL 60622 or at www.pulmonaryfibrosis.

A drop of blood taken from Korinna Sieracki's heel a day after she was born last June at Franklin Square Hospital Center revealed what her mother feared. "When I heard cystic fibrosis, I just lost it because all I thought was, `My God, my daughter's going to die when she's just a child,'" said Kristie Sieracki, a mother of three from Edgewood. But now the Sierackis consider themselves lucky for two reasons. First, the prognosis for cystic fibrosis patients has improved in recent years, with life expectancy now reaching into the 50s for infants diagnosed at birth.

Justin Homassel, 8, a second-grader at Waterloo Elementary School, seemed perfectly comfortable taking the stage Friday and speaking in front of a school assembly. "Thank you for everyone that's giving in money to support my cause," he said into the microphone. His fellow students cheered. Justin was born with cystic fibrosis, a disease that means, in his words, "there's mucus in my lungs, and it's hard to breathe." His teacher, Meggen Vannostrand, said, "He has to take a special pill every day before he eats."

Alliances Eyemaginations Inc., headquartered in Towson, formed a strategic alliance with California-based eyeonics Inc. The venture will focus on education and marketing for cataract patients. Awards John C. Erickson, chairman and chief executive officer of Erickson Retirement Communities, received the 2006 Business Leader of the Year award from Loyola College's Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J., School of Business and Management. Nicole Bliss, manager of Susquehanna Bank's West Road branch, was named Associate of the Year by the Remodelors Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland.