The Children's Inn at NIH 15th Annual Gala

Good evening. Thank you, Elias Zerhouni, for that kind introduction. Elias is doing a wonderful job at NIH. I think he's one of the finest, if not the finest director we have had at NIH. I would also like to thank:

• Cokie Roberts

• Cokie and I shared pizza with some of the children at the Inn. If you ever get the opportunity to head over to the Inn, you should. You will walk away feeling so refreshed.

• All the Gala Chairmen, for organizing this event. Each and every year it gets a little bit better.

• Gala corporate chairmen and co-chairmen for their donations.

• Secretary Chao

• Members of Congress and directors of NIH institutes

• And all of their spouses. We are truly in debt to them for all the hard work they put into organizing this event. They deserve a big hand.

• And all of you.

Thank you all for supporting such a worthwhile cause, the Children's Inn.

As we all remember, and as many of us see every day, childhood is a wonderful time of discovery, learning, and play. Most children get stronger every day, and have few immediate worries.

Leslie Dreyfous, a 20th Century author says, "Children need time to stare at a wall, daydream over a picture book, make mud pies, kick a ball around, whistle a tune or play the kazoo."

Unfortunately, there are many children who are not as lucky.

These children can't do all the things that other children can do.

These children can't play outside with the other kids during recess.

These children must manage their diseases, in addition to their lives.

Managing a disease is not an easy task as an adult, and it is even harder for a child, and the child's family and friends. It's stressful. It's demanding. It's a world of unknowns.

But you wouldn't always know it if you watch the children at the Inn. I have met those children. I've enjoyed pizza with them and had the chance to get to know them. I can honestly tell you, these children are much braver than you and I. Each and every morning these children wake up, and are ready to do everything within their power to help conquer their disease. And, these children and their families have even more power to help. Why? Because they wake-up every morning in a supportive and caring home, thanks to your generous contributions to the Inn and the hard work of staff and volunteers.

The Inn allows them to play the way other children play-with friends and family, with hope and encouragement.

Children with serious and life-threatening illnesses from across the United States and internationally come to the Inn to be cared for by the world's greatest doctors and scientists. These children are giving their all every day and contributing to scientific breakthroughs on top of it. It is so important that we support them by providing a comfortable and loving home to stay with their family.

Providing a home that eases the stress of those tough days.

Providing a home where families of sick children can offer support, advice and encouragement to other families with sick children.

And, providing a home with a fun-filled atmosphere, so a kid can forget about being a patient�forget about the hospital�forget about the needles, and the testing, and the IV's and enjoy being a kid.

The Children's Inn offers its guest children more love, more hope, more care, more opportunity, and more confidence.

I'd like to tell you about one patient. I'll call her Maria. Maria comes from Honduras and entered the Children's Inn as a reserved little girl fighting a very rare form of leukemia. Although she is only eight years of age, Maria is one of the first children to test a new protocol for bone marrow transplants that has proven successful in adults. Maria's mother says that she has watched her shy little girl blossom and bloom into an outgoing young lady. And this is all because of the atmosphere, the love, and the support the Inn has given Maria. And I'm pleased to tell you that one of Maria's goals is to return to the NIH when she is older and work as a doctor and scientist.

What could possibly be greater than what this Inn is doing for children and their families?

And these children who stay at the Inn continue to help us make great progress and discover new medical advances in the fight against many diseases. NIH has numerous institutes, doctors, researchers, nurses, and staff who faithfully and diligently work to find the cures and treatments. But we could not achieve nearly the progress we have without the generous donations of people like you and the volunteers, like Maria, who are willing to travel here and be treated here.

Thanks to the children staying at the Inn, we are able to study a wide variety of diseases and continue to make scientific progress every day. These children are turning the 21st Century into the biomedical century. Let me tell you about some of the leading-edge research the Inn's children are taking part in.

Over the past decade, the NIH has treated many children who have a leukemia that resists standard chemotherapy. Through the help of the Children's Inn patients and their family members who donate bone marrow stem cells for transplantation, our scientists have been able to improve the disease-free survival for transplantation from below 30% 10 years ago to approximately 70% today. And, current laboratory research looks promising for improving this outcome even further by removing harmful immune cells from the donor cells before transplantation.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, is a genetic defect involving collagen, the scaffolding that holds bones together. This disease may cause you to break your ribs while sneezing, or fracture bones in your spine when hitting a bump in the road. NIH scientists have been studying this disease for a decade, but just recently, Children's Inn volunteers helped NIH find a treatment for at least one form of the disorder. And right now, Children's Inn patients are participating in a trial of a new drug that may have an even greater effect on bone strength.

This research we are leading is simply remarkable. I could go on and on about the amazing breakthroughs that are being made by our researchers, by our children and by you. Your generosity starts the whole process.

When you thought about supporting the Children's Inn, some of you probably wondered if you had the resources to make a difference. Let me tell you: you have made a difference. As Edmund Burke once said, "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little." Just look at what we did with all of our individual little pieces added together - we developed this wonderful place called the Children's Inn.

And if that doesn't convince you, consider the advice of Betty Reese. "If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito." Each of our contributions, no matter how small, does make a difference. We can and should continue to do great things together.

Elias and I work every day to ensure Americans are as strong, healthy and independent as they can be. We wouldn't be as successful without our young volunteers or without you. And I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for what you stand for and what you do.

I promise you, that we will continue research, find treatments and discover cures all over the world.

And we know that every night, these children wish upon a star for that research, that treatment and that cure. It is places like the Inn, and people like you who are so generous with your time, resources and love that are helping to make these children's dreams come true.

God Bless You. And God Bless the United States of America.

Last Revised: October 15, 2003

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