Deirdre O'Mara Welcomes Friend to Assist Biology Assignment
April 26, 2004

On April 13, 2004, Deirdre O’Mara’s ninth-grade biology classes each found a friend in Patty Friend. Patty, who was referred to Deirdre by close friend and Pingry librarian Janet Koch, spoke to the classes about her two sons’ battle with cystic fibrosis (CF). Her talk was a supplement to the classes’ in-depth biology assignment. The assignment paired students as married couples or single parents in efforts to learn about genetic mutation from a parent’s perspective. The “parents” were then given a “child” (an egg) that was assigned a genetic condition based on the students’ ethnicity (like African American’s susceptibility to sickle cell anemia), religion (like Tay Sachs predominance in Jewish communities), and other attributes. After researching their respective diseases, the students spent the following week carrying around their eggs and keeping journals. Speaking on cystic fibrosis, Patty communicated the ups and downs that CF parents and patients often go through. She listed symptoms associated with the disease, such as salty skin; detailed the expenses, and explained some of the possible insurance concerns that parents often face. She also illustrated how the excessive production of mucus in the lungs can affect abilities to breathe and may lead to death, as was the fate of her son, Brooks, who died at the age of six and a half. She ensured “parents,” particularly those whose “children” had CF, that it is still possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle and stay ahead of the 39-year old life expectancy, as her son Biff has continued to do after successfully receiving a double lung transplant five-and-a-half years ago. Patty says that she loves life and can not wait to get up in the mornings. “When bad things happen, you let your emotions take over but then you have to put on your fighting boots,” she says. Reciting a line from Elton John’s song, she joyously sings, “I’m still standing” to the group of smiling onlookers. © 2004 The Pingry School