Unmask the Cure

Friday night Rob and I had the chance to get our feet wet in the pool of volunteering for the CF Foundation with the Portland chapter. We signed up to help with the yearly dinner/auction. We were instructed to dress in all black and given these vague assignments. Vague only because we had never attended one of these. So needless to say we were a bit nervous as we had no idea what to expect.

We didn't have a great start to the evening as we left Aloha at 4:15 and barely got to the Marriot in downtown by our expected arrival time of 5:30. Grrrrr. One wrong turn in Portland completely threw us off. But we made it with a few minutes to spare. The theme this year was "Unmask the Cure", it was a masquerade. They had fun masks for sale and everyone started showing up in ritzy black suits and dresses. Talk about feeling uncomfortable. Rob and I come from hick roots and have never been comfortable around glamour. However, it was fun to sit back and watch just how the rich behave :) Haha! Pretty much like "normal" folks just with fancy clothes on LOL! I wish I had grabbed my camera out of my purse. One lady, I found out later is one of the head haunchos for the Portland Chapter, was completely decked out in masquerade attire. A gorgeous Elizabethan type dress with this elaborate mask. She was very pretty.

Rob and I were in charge with a couple others to walk around the silent auction tables and keep on eye on the bids. At the close we were to grab the bid sheets and run them to the front desk. It was disheartening to see that at least 1/2 of the items offered received no bid at all. The ones that did, those people received some awesome deals as no one tried to outbid anyone. It's hard not to take that personal as this is the money that is being raised to find the cure for my daughter.

Following the silent auction was the live auction. That got better. Still, I'm sure after recent economic events, people were feeling a bit less rich :) At one point they stopped the auction to let three families come forward and talk about how CF has affected their life. I was not prepared for that. Not only am I super emotional when it comes to this stuff but I was stuck right up front. During the live auction it was my job to run the bid sheet to the highest bidder and have them sign it so I had to be right in front so I could pay attention. I had to bite my tongue the entire time they were speaking to keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks. It's so heartwrenching listening to how others have learned and then dealt with their child being diagnosed with CF. One family lost their daughter just a few years ago. She was only 25. A rant for a later post is the fact that all these families discovered their child had CF during the first few months of life. We waited 2 1/2 years before we found out what was wrong with Elizabeth. But like I said, I'll rant about that later.

During this time we got to talking with a really cute couple. Lindsay and her husband Jon. Lindsay actually approached Rob at one point and asked if he was Elizabeth Beasley's father. They started chatting and then he brought her over to meet me. Come to find out our daughters were up at Doernbecher at the same time for a regular routine appointment. They both have the name Elizabeth. Pat, the nutritionist, had come into their room and got things confused with our daughter who she had just seen. That's when they found out our daughters have the same name of Elizabeth Rose. They both have red hair. They are a year apart but their birthdays are within weeks of each other. And they both have CF. Lindsay is on the committee for the walk that happens in the spring, Great Strides. I was wondering where I had seen her before. We went to help with the walk this year. Anyway, the biggest let down to all of this is the fact that these two little girls can't be friends. We could let them meet but they have to stay 3 ft away from each other. Of all the stupid things we have to go through with this disease this one saddends and angers me most of all. So, I'm hoping to get in contact with Lindsay again and maybe at least exchange pictures and keep in touch.

As the night progressed you could tell the alcohol was starting to loosen people and their wallets up :) LOL They restarted the live auction and there were a lot of funny moments. The auctioneer was ingenious. A set of car keys, Lexus, were left in the bathroom and then found. He actually started to auction them off and people started bidding on them!! The owner had to pay $100 to get his keys back!! He did that with several items later in the auction. Didn't even miss a beat, took advantage of every situation he could to raise money. All in all I think the Portland chapter did pretty good. I think I'll write Danielle and ask just how much was riased.

It was fun to go help out. I very much want to be more involved. Danielle had contacted me last year but I had just had a baby and didn't feel up to it. Now that everyone is a little older I'm feeling like I can be more involved and I'm looking forward to more chances to help. It is for my daughter after all :)