NNPDF Conference

The National Niemann-Pick Disease Foundation (NNPDF) held their 17th annual family support and medical conference in Seattle this past weekend. Gene and Karen Quandt (Ty's parents) were the hosts this year and picked the Tukwila Doubletree as the location. Several months ago, I was asked by Karen to photograph their banquet and dance, and I was more than happy to accept.

The conference lasted three days but I was only needed on Saturday. Chris was working at the hydros all weekend and I'd thought about dumping Owen off on someone for the day. However, I also like having him around big groups of people so I decided to take him along.

Since it was (as my mom would say) hotter than a fart in a frying pan, the first thing Owen and I did was jump in the pool. After a 30-minute swim, we hopped in the car to take a few touristy pictures of Seattle for my slideshow. We stopped by the Museum of Flight and I got a few pictures of the Blue Angels on the ground. However, I decided to stop at that. The Seattle sky was just too polluted from lack of rain and the sun was too bright. I knew it would take a lot of photo editing to fix these problems.

We headed back to the hotel so I could begin taking pictures. The group was large and the people were so fun. These people were definitely not camera shy, and they know how to have a good time! My good friend Matt O'Neill generously donated his DJ services again. Matt DJ'd our wedding, and he's DJ'd at three auction/dances at my mom's school. As usual, he had the dance floor packed. I took 420 pictures over the course of four hours and I'm happy with the way they turned out.

Most of the people who read this blog are already familiar with Niemann-Pick Disease, but here's a quick refresher. NPD is a genetic neurological disease that is diagnosed in childhood. There is no treatment, no cure, and the disease is fatal. Most of those who are diagnosed will not reach their 20s. There are three types (A, B and C). Ty was diagnosed with Type C, which affects approximately 500 people worldwide.

I'm amazed at how the Niemann-Pick families are able to enjoy life to the fullest. These people face a scary future (some at the conference have already lost their children, but are still involved with the foundation). Yet they know how to celebrate the fun things in life and make the most of their precious time together. The pictures really reflect that. I'm so happy and honored that I was asked to be part of their special evening.

And Owen had a blast. He was right in the middle of the party and made tons of friends! He behaved well and crashed as soon as we got in the car.