Coed Softball Teams Make Pitch for Cure

When Andrew Harris of Simi Valley turns 5 years old June 30, his parents will be doing what they’ve done for the last few years--organizing a charity softball tournament.

Christine and Randy Harris have lost a son and a daughter to histiocytosis, which causes the rapid proliferation of immune cells, which eventually attack healthy tissue.

Three months before he was born, Andrew was also diagnosed with the disease, which can be inherited. In the last five years, he received chemotherapy, radiation transplants and two bone-marrow transplants, and only in January he started walking and speaking. His parents say his chances of catching up to his age group look good.

Two years ago, the Harris family, with help from friends, organized the Play for a Cure coed softball tournament to raise money to help find a permanent cure for the disease.

The tournament will be held July 1 at Rancho Santa Susana softball fields in Simi Valley. Proceeds will go to the Histiocytosis Assn. of America.

The entry fee is $200, and teams have until June 26 to sign up. The family also raises money through raffle tickets, snack bar sales and donations.

The tournament raised $5,000 in research money in 1998 and $8,500 last year. This year’s goal is $10,000.

To sign up for the tournament, call the Harris family at (805) 522-7579 or Deanna and Tom Glynn at (805) 581-2228. To make a donation, send a check or money order payable to Play for a Cure, 1669 Blackwall Drive, Simi Valley, CA, 93063 or to the Histiocytosis Assn. of America, 302 N. Broadway, Pitman, NJ, 08071.