A Chance Meeting Changed my Life!

May 20, 2015May 27, 2021 Category: Stories of Hope Posted by NFED

    By Frank Farrington, D.D.S., M.S.

Affiliated with the Medical College of VCU, Dept. of Pediatric Dentistry, Richmond, VA

Why have I stayed involved with the NFED and the Scientific Advisory Council, Patient Care Council, and the Board of Directors for so many years?  The answer is very simple.

When you are on the faculty of a dental school that decides to start a genetics program in your department. When two top dental geneticists come from Johns Hopkins University to start it. When you see and treat your first child with ectodermal dysplasia you certainly get interested. When you meet a wonderful young mother from southern Illinois with a young child with this rare condition very few people have heard of, especially when that certain mother is Mary Kaye Richter, the founder of the NFED , you are hooked,  After you attend your first family get together and meet the families you are forever involved.  The NFED has offered me so much in my professional and personal life. I have grown with the foundation from the start and will continue to make a difference in the lives of those affected by ectodermal dysplasias.  It is my destiny!

As a dentist I have been able to meet with other clinicians to discuss and learn the latest treatment technics that have been developed. As an educator I have been able to teach what I have learned so that others can provide the needed care, especially for children with ectodermal dysplasias. I have been able to meet many of the leading researchers and clinicians in this country and around the world. To be involved in the first meetings to discuss the development of possible genetic treatment for ectodermal dysplasias that has developed into ongoing clinical trials. At Family Conferences through the years to watch infants develop into mischievous little kids, healthy teens, and productive adults raising families of their own. The lifelong friendships I have made. Why stop now? There is still so much to learn, to do, and to achieve.

I will never be able to give back all that I have gotten from that first contact from a mother on a farm in Illinois, my dearest friend Mary Kaye Richter. Thank You!

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