On January 18th 2009 I will be participating with the NF Marathon Team in the Phoenix Arizona.

As I mentioned, the Phoenix events (Marathon & Half Marathon) will be held the weekend of January 18th 2009. I'd really love it if you could come out and support our team. You could run it, walk it, or cheer us on to the finish line. As always, please feel free to sponsor me and/or my teammates in this event :)

We’ve all heard of Cancer, we’ve all heard of Diabetes, but most of us know nothing about NF. I was very surprised to learn how common it is. In fact, it affects almost 2 MILLION PEOPLE worldwide. I’ve included some NF facts and statistics below, please read them when you can.

Neurofibromatosis (NF) is more prevalent than cystic fibrosis, hereditary muscular dystrophy, and Huntington's disease combined. It strikes one in every 3,500 births, and affects people of all races and ethnic origins throughout the world. Half of all cases occur as the result of a "spontaneous genetic mutation" in families with no history of the disorder. This means that anyone's next child could be born with NF.

NF causes tumors to form on nerves anywhere in the body, including the brain and spinal cord. It can lead to loss of vision and hearing, disfigurement, loss of limbs, skeletal defects, and various forms of cancer, including juvenile leukemia. Learning disabilities occur at a rate five to six times higher among children with NF than those in the general population. Half of all children with NF require special education. Many of these children also have speech and motor deficits, or psychosocial and behavioral problems, which require therapy. Individuals with NF have a higher incidence of stroke, structural heart defects, hypertension and other cardiovascular complications, which can affect even very young children.