It’s summer time and the living is lazy. So is your editor! It was really hard to stay hunched over the keyboard during this warm weather but here, finally, is the newsletter.

The big news, of course, is the smashing success achieved by the Rally for Research. About 330 enthusiastic participants gathered for a spectacular day of entertainment and education. You missed something special if you weren’t able to join us. The team at Long Beach Memorial deserves a huge hand for hosting the event, and for doing such a great job in organizing the details! Everything went smoothly in spite of the huge crowd. An exceptionally large group of physicians was present this year and, as always, was astounded and uplifted by the sight of their happy patients checking out the vendor booths and even dancing a step or two. DANCING? That’s right. The Tiep trio of docs has all the magic of H.C. Anderson fiddlers. They set hands to clapping, feet to tapping, and smiles on all who heard or saw them play. Our guest speakers were wonderful, the vendors informative and generous, but it was the spirit of group that made the day so special. What a privilege it was to be part of this wonderful event!

Would you like to see a partial listing of the latest donors to the Chair? They included those by Kevin Hettich, Sharon O’Hara, Wm. & Shirley Grindrod, Kay Arndt, Susan Hesser, Bonny Steele, RN, PhD, Bill Prentice, RN and Sara Casaburi (in honor of Dr. Rich Casaburi), New Technology Publishing and Dr. Brian Tiep.

Louise Nett RN, Chad Therapeutics, CORF Licensing Services, Respironics, Metro Med, Option One HME, Pharmacia Upjohn, Salter Labs, Apria Health Care, Sequor Technologies, Inc. and Eli Lilly joined Dr. Petty’s Long Beach 500.

John Boynton of Cockeysville, MD made another generous donation to the Chair, which makes him a Sustaining Member (donations ranging from $1,000 to $5,000). John called to say that he and his wife have designated a contribution to the Chair into their will. That makes you very special, John! Additional donations from Dr. Tom Petty, Reta Long, and Dr. Richard & Mary Casaburi to the Long Beach 500 also makes them members of this special group. Joining them is PREP, the Mission Community Hospital Patient Support Group,. They presented their check during the Rally to a huge ovation from the crowd. Everyone was overwhelmed by their outpouring of support, and good will. The unbelievable number of 99 members of PREP joined together to contribute enough to earn their group a place in history. Their engraved name will be on the plaque under "Sustaining Members"! It is wonderful people like you who spur us on to work harder and to keep going on those days when things get tough. You can’t know how uplifting it is to know how many there are who appreciate what the Chair will mean to all those who suffer from respiratory disease. We thank you for your support, emotional as well as financial. You are wonderful!

Edmund Roth of New Britain, CT again made a very generous donation to the Chair in honor of his sister, Mary Burns. This now puts Eddy in the very special category of Premier Member, someone who has donated $5,000.00 or more. Mary sends her very special thanks for this very wonderful bequest.. Thank you, Eddy!!!

Freda Standeford of Westchester, CA thinks the Oxy-dog is a great idea. She would love to communicate with some creative handicapped person who would build her a cart. She doesn’t have a dog but would like it to hold her e-cylinder and attach it to her Pugeot 12 speed bike. Is there some one out there who already has one of these that they have made? If so, let us know. We may get a cottage industry going here. Some of our bike riding patients put their liquid oxygen in the basket in front of them. However, that may be much too dangerous for an e-cylinder. If you had a spill and broke the neck of that cylinder you might launch a guided missile! So, bring on your ideas for an inexpensive cart for Freda.

Janice wrote to ask about using a harmonica as a therapy to improve breathing techniques if you have emphysema. That is an interesting question, Janice. Check out our web site for some good breathing techniques, as well as a lot of other good information.  A harmonica is a fun way to practice breathing.  So is
playing on a kazoo, which is a lot easier to learn.  That is because the player concentrates on breathing OUT.  This will not produce any permanent cure however, since emphysema causes a loss of elasticity in the lung which can result in air trapping.  It is important that people learn to breathe out 2 or 3 times as long as they breathe in to prevent more air trapping, to allow time to exhale, and to make room for that air that they breathe in.