In 1903, Orville Wright telegraphed home the triumphant news of the first powered flight from the small town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville and his brother, expert bicycle mechanics, had invented a flying machine that did more than glide, it actually drove through the air, as a boat propels itself through water. In the course of this century we have seen powered flight progress from Kitty Hawk to space flights to the moon and beyond.

What advances await us in the 21st century? As we approach the new Millennium, it is an exciting time to be alive. We stand on the threshhold of astounding advances in the fields of genetics and medicine. In medical terms, our Kitty Hawk occurred in 1993 with the discovery of the VHL gene.

In the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Star Trek crew goes back from the 24th Century to the 20th to pick up a whale and save the Earth from destruction. While there, one of their men is injured, picked up in a 20th century ambulance and taken to the hospital. Terrified at what could happen to their shipmate in such a "primitive" hospital, the crew goes off to rescue him. Dr. McCoy passes a woman moaning on a gurney in the hall, bemoaning her kidney failure. He presses his hand-held transceiver to her arm, hands her two pills, and goes along on his mission. Later in the movie we see the same woman, joyfully declaring she is cured. Is this science fiction, or a Jules Verne prediction of our future?

Our wish for the New Millennium is that we will achieve a cure for VHL, a simple way to balance the VHL protein levels in the body and avoid the consequences that occur in this condition. We wish you joy and health and happiness for the new year, and for the 21st Century. -- Your VHLFA Family

As printed in the VHL Family Forum 7:4, December 1999. For permission to reprint, please contact VHL Family Alliance, editor@vhl.org. Further information is available from the VHL Family Alliance, info@vhl.org.