George who?

Do you know anyone who has Down Syndrome or someone in their family has it? I'd put money on it that you also know someone whose family member has DiGeorge Syndrome.
Never heard of it, have you?
Apparently, with 1 in 1200 births exhibiting some of the more than 180 possible symptoms, DiGeorge Syndrome is almost as common as Down Syndrome, but it's terribly difficult to diagnose. It's the partial deletion of the 22q11.2 chromosome. How did I come to learn about this ailment, much less care enough to post something about it?
It goes back to my Chicago Cubs involvement. And my interest in charity work.
Ryan Dempster is a starting pitcher for the Cubs and a guy I met about 3 or 4 years ago. He's been on the team for about 6 years and is one of the most down-to-earth professional athletes you'll ever meet. (And, if you live in the area around Wrigley Field, you might meet him in one of the local shops or riding his bike with his family.)
His daughter Riley was born 15 months ago and within four days of her birth, was diagnosed with DiGeorge Syndrome. She couldn't swallow, so a tracheotomy (sp?) tube was inserted, which is how she got nutrition. With physical therapy, Riley has progressed to the point where the trach tube was removed a few months ago. Yay, Riley!
At first, Ryan and his gorgeous wife Jenny didn't want to disclose their daughter's health issues. After many discussions, they decided to use Ryan's popularity to help other families whose children have DiGeorge Syndrome. They created the Dempster Family Foundation to raise cash and interest in the disorder. Their first big fundraiser was this week at the House of Blues in Chicago. Of course, I volunteered.
'We' had at least 700 people in attendance including the ENTIRE Chicago Cubs team (looking very hot in tuxedos!) I don't know the final tally, but if the silent auction items are any indication, the event should've raised a TON of money:
- autographed Mickey Mantle baseball (New York Yankee Hall of Famer, for my European friends who don't know baseball)
- autographed framed photo of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman (when all 3 were busy winning NBA titles for the Chicago Bulls). Apparently, less than 300 copies of this photo exist!
- 2 tickets to the 2010 World Series with airfare and hotel included!
- autographed photos and pucks from the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks. (Oh, did I mention that a bunch of Blackhawk players attended too?)
And a lot of other cool stuff.
I've heard from sooo many attendees saying what a great time they had. Fortunately, the Cubs had a day off following the event, so they could recover from what was an energy-packed night starting with a casino night where Cubs players were the dealers and a country music concert with Gary Allen. For me, it was a fabulous opportunity to not only help a very worthwhile cause, but actually have conversations with some of the Cubs players.
There are more and more websites popping up about this topic, but if you'd like to check out the Dempster's info, please go to www.dempsterfamilyfoundation.org
Thank you for your attention. Now back to your regularly scheduled internet blogs.