Dear Karen's Climb Supporters,
More than 20 years have passed since the first "Karen's Climb" fundraising event was held on December 6, 1985. The intervening years have passed in a blur -- years so often do. Looking back, there are milestones that stand out, marking significant changes in the lives of people and families affected by cystic fibrosis.
When Karen died in December of 1984, the hope of finding a cure for cystic fibrosis was a very vague hope indeed. Therapies and medications were emerging slowly, but not fast enough for those whose life expectancy was curtailed by the powerful ravages of cystic fibrosis, a genetically-caused and little-understood disease. In 1984 the culprit gene had not been identified, there were no flutter valves, no therapy vests, no wonder drugs, no lung transplants. Lung transplantation as a form of radical therapy was but a vision of the dedicated researchers and physicians committed to bringing a deadly disease under control.
As the years passed, the brilliant work of medical research progressed, inch by inch, thanks to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's relentless pursuit of a cure, while "Karen's Climb" quietly carved out a small "niche" mission: that of providing financial and emotional support to families affected by cystic fibrosis. By working closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as well as state and municipal health and social services agencies, "Karen's Climb" has helped to improve the quality of life for hundreds of people affected by cystic fibrosis. We help in many ways: by paying overdue household bills, purchasing food and nutritional supplements, keeping the lights and utilities turned on, putting fuel in the family car for hospital and treatment visits, paying for medications, and in general lightening the load wherever possible.
Even as we prepare for our fundraising initiatives for 2007, we are processing requests for assistance from several families who have nowhere else to turn for financial support. What a comfort it is to know that Karen's Climb supporters can be counted upon make the funds available to meet those needs!
From this vantagepoint of over 20 years, some things stand out in memory beyond all others. In the summer of 1989 we were organizing our 5th "Karen's Climb" fundraising event. Details of the evening were complex, as we optimistically wrestled with the possibility of having folk artist Don McLean give not one, but two performances for "Karen's Climb". The negotiations took place mostly from public telephone booths along the highway -- no cell phones in those days -- as I was driving round-trip to the Midwest. It was while standing in the rain, telephone to my ear, that we got the news: the cystic fibrosis gene had been isolated! At that moment all thoughts of concerts and entertainment were pushed aside. Surely this was the most momentous occasion in the long history of the war against cystic fibrosis.
Since that discovery so much has happened: vastly improved treatments, medications, therapies and even lung transplants have become a reality. The life expectancy of cystic fibrosis patients has quietly blossomed from mid-teens to mid-thirties, with greatly improved quality of life.
Yet in the face of all of this progress, we must face the reality that the skirmishes and battles already won are but beachheads in the war. We cannot ignore the fact that 1 out of every 3,900 babies in the United States is born with cystic fibrosis. Lives continue to be lost to this disease. Families are still being ravaged financially and emotionally by the disease. Much remains to be done. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation will continue to fulfill its mission of funding research and informing the public of the disease. "Karen's Climb" will continue to do what is necessary to provide direct support to families. One day in the not too distant future we will celebrate the victory over cystic fibrosis. Thank you for the role you have all played in making this dream real.
Dave Larlee, President
"Karen's Climb" Foundation
February 4, 2007
