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13 years, 82 surgeries:One battle with HPV

Dayton Danner’s diseaseone strain of common virus

UAB scientists trying to preventStory by DAVE PARKS ♦ News staff writer

Photographs by JOE SONGER ♦ News staff photographer

Off tosee the‘Wicked’PLAY | Section G

LOCAL NEWS | Page 13A

ImagiCon’s flights of fantasy land at BJCC

THE DOOBIE BROTHERS THE NEVILLE BROTHERSJANE’S ADDICTION

A coach, yes, but Grant’s a mentor, tooUA’s new hoops hire all about wins, and players

SPORTS | Section B

MARCH MADNESS: UConn, ’Nova first in the Final Four SPORTS | Section B

INSIDE | SCHEDULE OF CONFIRMED BANDS, TICKET INFORMATION | 8A

Dr. Brian J. Wiatrak, a pediatric otolaryngologist at Children’s Hospital, looks down the throat of Dayton Danner for growths that clog the 13-year-old’s airway. The growths are caused by human papillomavirus and must be removed about every six weeks. Otherwise, Dayton would suffocate.

Tara Parr, a registered nurse at Children’s Hospital, pulls a catheter from Dayton’s arm. He says that he’s had so many needle sticks that they don’t botherhim anymore, but his face tells a different story.

Tuition planriskier thanmost others

City Stages ready to rock in ’09By MARY COLURSONews staff writer

Jane’s Addiction, YoungJeezy, the Neville Brothers,En Vogue, Styx, REO Speed-wagon and 38 Special are

among nearly 45 acts con-firmed for City Stages 2009.

Organizers for Birming-ham’s largest music festivalannounced a partial lineuptoday for the event, set for

June 19-21. A second roundof performers is likely to berevealed in May, said DeniseKoch, City Stages’ executivedirector.

The festival, which takes

place downtown in andaround Linn Park, will havelower ticket prices, aslimmed-down budget and

See CITY STAGES Page 8A

Heavier reliance on stocksled to bigger losses in marketBy STAN DIELNews staff writer

Alabama’s prepaid collegetuition program was moreheavily invested in stocks be-fore the market collapse thanany other state but Mississippi— and was far more heavilyinvested in stocks than most,according to a review of finan-cial records from 15 states.

About 70 percent of the as-sets of Alabama’s Prepaid Af-fordable College Tuition Pro-gram were invested in stockslast September, at the end of

fiscal 2008, according to re-cords released last week. Ofsimilar programs in 14 otherstates, three others had morethan 60 percent of their assetsin equities. Mississippi alsohad 70 percent of its prepaidtuition assets in stocks lastyear.

As the markets spiraleddownward, the value of thetrust fund holding PACT’s as-sets plunged last year. Thefund was valued at $899 mil-lion at the end of fiscal 2007,

See PACT Page 5A

A woman’s struggleamid tough job marketBy ROY L. WILLIAMSNews staff writer

Eight months into an unex-pected journey into unem-ployment, Sybil Gilbert-Scar-brough of Irondale hit a lowpoint.

With her bank accountsdown to $1.01 on March 20,the former producer of specialprojects at a Birmingham tele-vision station had to tap intodaughter Breannah’s savingsaccount for $50 to cover acheck she had written theweek before. Two days later,to buy toilet paper, she had to

use a gift card Breannah, 12,had received at Christmas.

“I hated to do it, but I wasliterally down to just penniesto my name,” she said.

It was the latest stomach-churning moment in what Gil-bert-Scarbrough describes asan emotionally bruising brushwith joblessness. It’s an expe-rience being shared by thou-sands of other Alabamianswho have lost jobs during theworst recession in decades —a downturn that shows nosigns of relenting.

See JOBLESS Page 11A

By DAVE PARKSNews staff writer

Fighting for life is a way oflife for 13-year-old DaytonDanner.

Since age 2, he’s beenundergoing operation af-

ter operation, needle stick afterneedle stick, anesthesia after anes-thesia, only to repeat the process afew weeks later.

He had his 82nd surgeryWednesday — his second this year,following a Feb. 11 operation.

Dayton is on the front lines in

the war against human papillomavi-rus, HPV. When he was born, orshortly thereafter, he was infectedwith HPV type 11.

The bug colonized Dayton’s air-way, causing persistent, non-can-cerous but suffocating growths. Hegoes to Children’s Hospital aboutevery six weeks to have the growthscut out by Dr. Brian J. Wiatrak, aleading authority on Dayton’s dis-ease — recurrent respiratory papil-lomatosis, RRP.

See HPV Page 10A