Games For Cystic Fibrosis Gain Company Support

*****Of all the writing projects I have done, one of my very favorite was event coverage; especially charitable events.  Here is a three-article set of an event from many years ago:

     The Cystic Fibrosis Sports Challenge was like watching 33 company picnics converge in grand style.  But to the children who will benefit from Saturday’s event at John Burroughs School, life has been no picnic.

     In the spirit of Shakespearean contemporary Sir Francis Bacon, corporate St. Louis displayed their belief that “in charity, there is no excess.”   With the $500 entry fee and other donations, the event raised more than $25,000 to be used to further research at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Cardinal Glennon and the University of Missouri Medical Center.

     The generosity of National Food Stores, the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, Frito Lay and Continental Bakery was evident by the masses of food and liquid refreshment that was offered.

     But there were games to play.  Besides the standing long jump, five men and five women per team competed in the basketball shoot, the mile relay, the tug-of-war, the rubber raft relay and the slippery, treacherous obstacle course.

     Al Hrabosky was emcee of the event.  Although the former St. Louis Cardinal relief ace knows the rigors of athletic competition, he preferred to downplay that aspect of the proceedings.

     “Athletes depend so much on physical strengths, and often take their muscles for granted,” he said.  “I’ve never wanted people to idolize me for my pitching.  For these kids, even breathing is an everyday problem.”

     Cystic fibrosis is America’s No. 1 genetic killer of children and young adults.  Youngsters who develop the disease not only go through a daily series of painful medical treatments for their lung and digestive disorders, but most don’t live well beyond their teen years.

BUSINESS AS USUAL? 

CF BENEFIT LETS CORPORATE TYPES VENTURE INTO THE SPORTING LIFE

     Al Hrabosky knew it didn’t take a prophet to figure out what was in store for the participants in Saturday’s Cystic Fibrosis Sports Challenge at John Burroughs School.  Having been a top-flight athletic specimen in his younger days, “The Mad Hungarian” knows that weekly company softball outings accompanied by a few cases of beer rarely leaves it participants in prime physical condition.

     “This is kind of nice because you have a chance to embarrass yourselves,” announced Hrabosky, who emceed the event.  “Have a good time suffering the thrill of victory AND the agony of defeat!”

     Hrabosky must have been thinking of the obstacle course.  After crawling through a three-foot high and 15-foot long copper steel tunnel, participants had to dance through seven pairs of tires, over a balance beam, around cones then sprint 50 yards to the finish line.

     Sachs Electric Company of Chesterfield tied the University of Missouri-St. Louis for third place overall among 33 teams, but the obstacle course is one event that Jerry Diebling would like to forget.  The Ballwin resident dislocated his left shoulder after smashing it flush against the tunnel.

     Hal Colton, president of the Colton-Lester Corporation, a Chesterfield-based engineering consulting company, also failed to leave the course unscathed.  Colton hit the finish line, then slid on the wet turf and stumbled about 15 feet, scraping his arm on the asphalt parking lot.

     Meanwhile, fleet-footed Ricky Grady helped his Calgon Vestal Laboratories team to first place in their five-team flight.  He displayed style and grace—a rarity among corporate workers that day—in the obstacle course as well as in the mile relay and standing broad jump.  However, teamwork was the byword for a West County tandem in the rubber raft relay.

     “It was a jungle out there; especially since we started out using the wrong paddles,” said Brentwood’s Mike Bayer and teammate Rebecca Blasé of Glendale.  “It’s a lot harder than it looks.”

     While that duo led CyberTel to first place on that event, Rob Sandhaus of Chesterfield gives all the credit to teammate Ruth Oran for their part in Contel’s third place finish.  “It was just my partner making up for all my shortcomings,” he said.  “She was the steering force in all this.”

     Equally responsible for Contel’s finish was its competition—or lack of it—from Concordia Publishing House.  While Kirkwood’s Debbie Henrichs stroked valiantly on her team’s leg, teammate Cecil Harris had the little raft spinning in circles like an amusement park tilt-a-whirl.  In addition, as Harris said later of their complete tour of the pool, “I guess we decided to go our own route.”

     Michael Nobs didn’t know where he was going, either.  But he was a bit more successful at it.  The Webster Groves resident had his eyes closed as the front man who helped Sachs to a miraculous come-from-behind victory over EDM, Inc. in the tug-of-war semifinals.  Minutes later, Sachs was defeated in just five seconds by the Sports Challenge defending champions, Bangert Brothers Construction Company.

     But this year, Christian Health Services, representing Christian Hospitals Northeast and Northwest, emerged as the overall champs while Citicorp finished second despite (or perhaps because) only four males competed on its 10-person roster. 

     “Everyone’s really enjoying this, and it’s not an overly intense spirit of competition,” said Vice-President Harry Bangert, a Creve Coeur resident, whose team once again finished first in its six-team flight.  “We enjoyed competing last year, and were prepared to pass the title to another team.

     “The main thing is that everyone’s aware of the charity, and the highlight is watching the kids (with cystic fibrosis) come out at the end to give out the awards.”

     “I don’t know who thinks these things up, but it’s terrific and for a great cause,” said Denise Benedict, assistant reservations manager at the Sheraton Westport Hotel.  “If I have kids, I hope they’re nice and healthy.  But I’ll be coming here next year and every year after.”

CF PATIENT’S PLEASURE COMES IN TAKING LIFE BY THE HORNS

     Nearly 20 years ago, Barb DiBartolo gave birth to her first child.  Four years later, she learned that her son Tony had cystic fibrosis, a disease that damages the lungs and digestive system.

     “It was devastating,” DiBartolo said.  “I couldn’t believe it or trace it back anywhere in the family.  It’s one of the most devastating things in the world; especially since it was my first child, and he could have died.  It’s also very hard to tell a four-year-old that he has to have his chest beat on every day (postular drainage) and that he has to sleep in a mist tent every night.”

     DiBartolo also had to face aerosol treatment—accepting antibodies through a mask, and wasn’t able to associate with any kids who could even pass cold germs his way.

     But Barb DiBartolo, a Manchester resident, also has worked on her own disposition in handling the situation.  Luckily for her, she had her second child, Gina, a year before she learned of Tony’s condition.  Both parents must be carriers for a child to be born with CF, and there’s a one-in-four likelihood that the child will have the disease.

     “It’s been a challenge trying to give them equal attention,” DiBartolo said.  “He needs the extra attention, but she deserves it, too.  At times, she almost felt guilty that she didn’t have the disease.  But overall, everyone in the family has really pulled together just to cope.”

     DiBartolo has developed her own highly successful method of assessing the situation.

     “The biggest thing is a CF child has no control over his health,” she said.  “So, he needs to have more control over other areas of his life.  I let him do what he wants to do in life, and let him quit school early.  He passed the GED (high school equivalency test) and started junior college at the age of 17.  Kids with CF are usually extra bright, and he overcompensates by doing a lot of things.”

     Today, Tony works with computers at his father’s Duplicating Systems business in St. Louis.  In addition, he writes and records his own music.  His future and the futures of other CF patients look bright.

     In Tony’s case, his doctors mistakenly diagnosed him as suffering from some mysterious digestive problem.  Nowadays, the disease is usually detected in its infancy.

     “We have an optimistic future because they have made a lot of discoveries since then,” said Barb DiBartolo, who sells cellular phones for CyberTel.  “They used to think that exercise wasn’t good for cystic fibrosis patients.  But any exercise they can do to their ability helps just like exercise for healthy people.  Now, people are living into their 20s and beyond.

     “The disease never improves, but the goal is to hold it or keep it in check.  You have to keep a good attitude and have your mind in the right place.  It made me aware of how to spend time and to take each day at a time.  Tony’s attitude has been great and I think he’ll outlive most people around him”

    Researchers are now on the verge of knowing beforehand if a parent is among the one-in-18 people who carry the disease.

     “For 10 years, very little was done, but so much progress has been made lately,” DiBartolo said.  “Public awareness is so important.  They need to know about CF so that when volunteers come around, they’re likely to make donations.

     “This event (Corporate Games) is great because companies really help with their donations.  Although a lot of them don’t know exactly what CF is, I still appreciate them being here.  Some people with small children don’t think they’re going to live long, but they are!”